Partial Eclipse
by Rio Grande
Summary: When the Sailor Scouts are away, who will protect Earth? Yes, I'm afraid I've just contributed to the already overwhelmingly large amount of Ranma 1/2/Sailor Moon fics out there- also, sorry, but this chapter is a bit more serious than others.
1. Prologue

Hey all! I realize it's been done before... lots of times before.... but here it is, my very own Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 cross over! It focuses A LOT more on Ranma 1/2 then Sailor Moon, (the scouts are in like, three chapters total, barely. Maybe. I'll have to think on it.) so if you were hoping to read about Sailor Venus falling in love with Ranma or what not, you came to the wrong fic, terribly sorry about that... anyway! I don't own Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon, this fic is called 'Partial Eclipse', (though that phrase is never actually uttered through out the entire story...) Please enjoy!  
  
P.S- If you see any misspellings, (either with things pertaining to the shows (Ronma, and Akaney...) or just bad grammar in general.) please tell me about it, I REALLY can't spell... I think it's a birth defect or something.  
  
P.S.S- OH! Right, just thought I should mention it... Ranma will NOT be a Sailor Scout in this fic! I just HATE it when he goes all 'Ranko'... eh, well, whatever. Sorry if that's a big let down for you or something.  
  
AND NOW THE STORY!  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Prologue: Her First Premonition.  
  
  
  
"Eagh!!!"  
  
Akane shot up, gasped raggedly, and fell out of bed, bringing her covers with her, and finally ending up in a heap on the floor. Even as her head collided with the glossy wooden floor, she uttered not a word for fear of waking her elder sister who slept but a thin wall away.  
  
For a second or so she lay there on the floor, arms splayed out above her, and legs tangled together at the thighs in a mess of sheets. She rolled over onto her side a bit more, making due with her situation, and thought over what she had just dreamt about furiously. It was all fading way so fast, if she didn't try really hard to remember, it would be gone, slipping through her fingers like water. She squinted her eyes as pictures came to mind.  
  
An beautiful woman... with shining black hair... and her favorite color yellow... had she been wearing it? She was shrouded with mystery and fog, and was whispering hard to Akane, who was trying extremely hard to remember just what she had been saying. It was all pretty chopped up, but she could sort of remember the woman saying something like 'Be careful! Dangerous!' over and over again, which was, but the way, not a very comforting thing. She had said some other things too, that had conveniently slipped Akane's mind, but she remembered distinctly that she had said 'Defend yourself.' It was frustrating but she just couldn't remember what to prepare herself for!  
  
Akane shook her head and shrugged the whole dream off as it became nothing more then a hazy recollection in her mind. True, it was the most urgent, and important feeling dream she had ever had, but if she could barely remember it, it must not have been THAT serious, right?  
  
She pulled her legs free of their cotton chains, and rapped the blanket around her shoulders instead, covering up her pearly white arms. She blew a lock of short blue hair from her face, groaned once as her legs creaked uncomfortably , and headed out of her room down to the kitchen. The dream had left her feeling weak and hungry, and she wasn't going back to bed until she was full, school in the morning be damned.  
  
She stumbled down the stairs awkwardly, head lolling from side to side, eyes drooping with drowsiness. She walked to the kitchen in a trance, feet and sheets dragging behind her.  
  
Her house was totally average, that was the only way to explain it. The walls were light shades, with normal sliding Japanese doors. Wooden floors with not much carpeting decorated her house, and vases filled with generic flowers filled rooms. Kasumi tended to them, and besides the fact that the house was connected to a dojo, there was not much else that would lead to the conclusion that a very interesting bunch of people lived in the three story structure.  
  
The kitchen was, as usual, spotless, just how Kasumi, Akane's even older sister, wanted it. The charming, if not somewhat clue less young woman, was very proud of her kitchen, and made sure it stayed perfect always, unlike many other places in the house that were constantly used and abused. The kitchen was HER domain.  
  
Keeping in mind to leave things neat before she left, Akane threw open the refrigerator door with some degree of anticipation, God she was hungry. She inspected the fridge's contents carefully.  
  
Well, she could go the healthy way and have some carrots and celery sticks, but Akane's stomach rumbled in protest at the thought. Why do the health freak thing when you didn't have to? She was perfectly fit (aside from what Ranma said) and could certainly afford to have something a little more fatty and satisfying. Her pretty brown eyes immediately caught a pint of ice cream towards the back at that thought.  
  
Smiling in satisfaction, she grabbed the cookie dough ice cream greedily and found a spoon on her way to the couch. Yes. T.V and ice cream, DEFINITELY what she needed. After all that she had been through in the past few months, it was times like these that she really treasured... or maybe required was more the word.  
  
Between things like Junsencyo, Saffron, Amazons and out of control curses, Akane didn't have time for the simple things any more... like HOMEWORK. She had always been a straight A student, and now she was almost a C, falling so behind in work she never had a free moment anymore. Well, that's what she got for being engaged to a person who would lead an 'adventurous life.' She sighed, spotting the couch in question, and lugged herself over to it.  
  
Once at the couch, which was strategically placed right in front of the T.V, Akane spotted something a little maddening. Ranma. In her couch. In HER relaxation spot, staring at her. Oh jeez, couldn't a girl have a minute of bliss to herself?  
  
" Hey Ranma," she dead panned, flopping onto the couch next to him, two years of living with the wild guy making her forget to be polite, or to make any effort to look presentable. He had seen her a lot worse, say... half DEAD, so she sometimes just ... forgot... to be shy or modest, as many Japanese school girls were encouraged by their parents to be.  
  
"Exited to see me, are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as she hastily yanked off the top to the ice cream, his own stomach crying as he watched her dig in, trying to resist the magnetic force he felt towards the sweet dessert.  
  
She licked the ice cream off the spoon carefully, glancing at his despairing face, and smiled mentally. Ah, so he wanted some, did he? Well that was just too bad! It was all HERS!  
  
"Oh yes..." she purred, smiling and swishing the spoon around in the ice cream tauntingly. Ranma grimaced. Akane loved to find weaknesses in the dark haired boy, and lately she was getting so good at it...  
  
" Um, so...." he said, quickly turning around, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing him frustrated. " Great show... hu?" Akane quickly looked up to see what Ranma was watching. Wheel of Fortune. Hu.  
  
" Oh yeah, real great." she said sarcastically, watching people scream silently, for Ranma had muted the sound so as not to disturb any sleeping peoples. " So, why are you up this late?" she asked after a second more of watching a contestant break into a fit of horribly quiet tears.  
  
" Bad dream," Ranma mumbled in the most macho way he could muster. Akane looked at him from the corner of her eye, a little surprised. Who would have thought that RANMA, the 'strongest guy in the universe', could be disturbed by such trivial things as a bad dream? Sure it was all right for someone like Akane, who had been demoted to official 'damsel in distress', ever since Ranma had come to Nermia, but Ranma just didn't seem like the type who woke up in tears because he had had a scary dream.  
  
"Me too," she admitted, shrugging, and quickly getting back to stuffing her face. She could be a real pig when she felt like it, and she just happened to feel like it just then.  
  
" What about?" Ranma asked, his voice curious, and a bit concerned. Akane almost smiled, Ranma always seemed to be looking after her... ever since... well... for a long time, anyway. Most times it was flattering, (though she would never admit it to the chauvinistic jerk) sometimes frustrating, and just now she sort of felt indifferent. It had become such a natural thing, Ranma being protective of her, sometimes she didn't even notice it.   
  
" I don't remember," she stated simply, sighing a bit. There was this feeling she had in the back of her mind, like she really SHOULD be trying hard to remember that dream... oh well...  
  
" Strange, me too. It was really bad, I guess, because it woke me up, but... other then that..." Ranma said, closing his eyes. Things like this usually meant he was about to get screwed over... again...  
  
Akane, finally taking pity on Ranma's hungry gazes, handed over the ice cream to him. He promptly started shoveling the stuff into his mouth, and Akane got the sinking feeling that she wouldn't be getting her beloved ice cream back.  
  
" I wonder what they mean, you don't think it's serious, do you?" Akane asked, feeling as though she needed to be reassured that she was forgetting anything to important about this dream... after all of the odd things that had happened to her, one could never be too sure.  
  
" Nah, I doubt it. I have weird dreams I forget all the time, and nothing happens, but-"  
  
" -But you've never had one wake you up and make you feel this way..." Akane finished for the boy, looking into his stormy blue eyes. Ranma sighed and nodded.  
  
" Yeah, yeah I guess so." he said. " But whatever, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, nothing I can't handle anyway." he added, giving off a confident, (infuriating) smirk. Akane, not able to resist, bopped him lightly on the arm.  
  
" Yeah right, whatever, give me back my ice cream, I'm going to bed," she decided, shaking her head. Ranma handed the ice cream over, and Akane slowly rose off the poofy couch, heading towards the stairs.  
  
" See you in the morning," Ranma called softly after the blue haired youth. Akane waved back to him without turning around, her head filled with soporific ideas, and then-  
  
" Agh...!" she gasped softly, collapsing onto the first step, and letting the ice cream and spoon drop from her hands. She barely heard them clatter to the wooden floor as she grasped her head and shut her eyes, biting her lip as pictures and ideas rushed through her head so fast she could barely keep track of them all. She felt vomit rise to her throat as she tried to organize her thoughts...  
  
'There was that woman again, with the yellow dress.... speaking in very urgent tones....  
  
" Please! Listen!" she whispered harshly. "This is very important, you must be prepared! We will call on you soon and you MUST BE PREPARED. Many things will be happening to you that you will have a hard time comprehending, so follow your instinct and stick close to your friends.... be ready to battle, to fight... above all, follow your heart and... be prepared."  
  
'Okay, I get it.. be prepared...' Akane groaned, wishing this vision would stop... ohh her stomach, she was gonna hurl!  
  
At that elating thought, a small, bright crescent moon appeared in front of the ill teen. It had this weird ... aura.. of happiness, and it glowed steadily without wavering a pure, white shine. In Akane's surprise she raised her hand and tried to touch it.... but it exploded at her sudden movement, much to her fright, crashing over her and rocking her bones. Her head ached more then ever.. stupid moon, damned curiosity... there was a cruel burst laughter at all this commotion, and she cracked open one eye to see what was making the horrible, teeth grinding noise... but all she could see was a pair of purple eyes, and then she was gone.'  
  
" Akane!?" she heard a familiar male voice whisper to her, shaking her head and propping her up. She slowly lifted up her eye lids, which felt heavier then she had ever remember them feeling. That voice... it was... it was..  
  
" Ranma" she said softly, placing her hands on the ground and lifting herself up slightly. Ranma hadn't let go of her, his worried hand still on her back.  
  
" Are you all right? You just collapsed!" he said, his voice coated with concern. She felt bad and turned to him, smiling in the most reassuring way she could. Well, maybe she just wanted him to leave her alone.  
  
" Yeah, I'm fine... I'm just... really tiered." she lied, her smile so fake she didn't even think Ranma would fall for it, yet he did.  
  
" Um, ok then." he said, still looking at her curiously as she got to her feet and grasped the bannister once again. Ok, so it was a terrible lie, but Akane was terribly shaken, and didn't want to worry anyone until she had this all sorted out.  
  
"Right, well then." she said, eager to find some aspirin. "You can have the ice cream." she decided, looking at the pint as it rolled around on the ground below her, much to far away for her to muster the energy to grab it.  
  
Ranma watched her jog away in her yellow pajama pants with wide eyes. He could have ALL of the remaining ice cream? All of it?! As in all of the contents left in that Ben and Jerry's carton? Man, something was wrong...  
  
"Ah well, 'The Price Is Right' is on next... it'll have to wait." Ranma murmured, smiling weakly and turning back to the T.V, almost entirely hiding the fact that he was terribly worried for Akane.  
  
Nabiki Tendo was worried. And not just a 'I hope Kuno isn't still sick today for school because I'm making major bets on his getting kicked into the stratosphere when he asks Akane out again today,' sort of worry, but a real worry. There was even an uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach, and the pencil she had been ruthlessly gnawing on for the past half hour was little more then a twig now. Her eyes were glazed over, and her thoughts appeared to be placed elsewhere currently, she was no longer waiting in the yard of Furikan High School, of the Nermia district. No, her thoughts were someplace far more important then that... only thing was, she had no idea just WHERE that was.  
  
It had all started the previous night, when she had waken up at 2:00 AM, just muffling a scream, a curious dream replaying itself over and over again in her head, until it was gone and Nabiki could barely remember what the whole deal had been about in the first place, much to her great frustration. That dream had been vital to... to something! She could feel it in her bones, and ever since the dream had passed, she could think of nothing but the cursed thing, her mind hell bent on remembering the message the dream had tried to get across to her in her sleep. Nabiki Tendo NEVER forgot important details, so why was she starting now? Barely containing a growl of utter anger, she ground her heel into the grass beneath her, eyebrows knitted together in anger.  
  
"Yo, Nabiki, are you okay sugar?"  
  
Immediately realizing who had just posed that question, Nabiki quickly turned around to face the notorious okanamiyaki chef of Nerima, Ukyo Kuonji.  
  
"Hi Ukyo, and yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Nabiki asked in a some what scratchy voice, still not fully recovered from last night. And as Nabiki took a closer look, it seemed as though Ukyo wasn't exactly in tip top shape either... she too looked rather tiered and worn out herself, not carrying her giant spatula to school with as much enthusiasm as usual.  
  
"No reason, you just looked upset," the pretty brunette admitted, shrugging.   
  
"You look pretty wasted yourself," Nabiki commented.  
  
"Heh, is it that noticeable?" the woman asked, rubbing the back of her neck uneasily. "I just had a really weird dream last night, is all. I'm really fine."  
  
"I see," Nabiki said, raising an eyebrow. 'Hmm... weird dreams seem to be a theme here. And I haven't lived in Nerima for seventeen years just to learn to overlook this sort of thing. I better keep my eyes peeled, it sounds like trouble's brewing... but no over reacting is key,' Nabiki thought quickly and quietly to herself, turning away from Ukyo and looking over to the main gates of the school, just in time to watch Ranma and Akane stroll in. There was still no sign of Kuno though...  
  
'Damn, he must still be sick,' Nabiki decided with a frustrated sigh, snapping her fingers at the bad luck. Nabiki glanced at Ranma and Akane once more though, eyes widening as she spotted something out of the ordinary... Akane. Akane was tiered too! The girl was such a sound, good sleeper, that seeing her so obviously exhausted and out of it was surprising to begin with ... she too had gotten little to no sleep last night, was the obvious answer to her dragging her feet around the school yard.  
  
'Well... that makes three of us. I'm not likin' this,' Nabiki decided with narrowed eyes, marching over to her little sister, arms folded.  
  
"Nabiki?" Akane asked carefully, watching her sister walk up to her with a rather peeved expression on her face. It was too early for Akane to have done something very wrong, so what was up with Nabiki?...  
  
"Let me guess, bad dream?" the teenaged ice queen asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Um!-" Akane gasped, eyes wide as she glanced at Ranma, watching his eyes expand in turn also. Had Nabiki seen them on the couch last night, and come to black mail them? Jeez... you couldn't let anything slip by ANYONE around here!  
  
"Listen, I mean, we didn't do anything-or something... I mean!-"  
  
"Yeah! I just DID have a bad dream and I was hungry so I- he was just there and..." Nabiki stared at the couple, almost happily, as they tossed around excuses hurriedly. Looks like she'd be making money today even if Kuno wasn't around! She had absolutely NO idea what they were talking about, really, but it sounded really GOOD in any case!  
  
"Yes..." she said carefully, trying to sound condescending as they dug themselves a grave. "Keep going..."  
  
"Well... Well hey! This isn't fair Nabiki, we were just watching T.V!" an indignant Akane growled, feeling that this was going just a bit too far. Like she would ever do anything with THAT jerk, in any case... well... what she means to say is... it's not like...  
  
"Yeah, and isn't spying on us in the dead of the night like that just a little low?" Ranma questioned with a frown.  
  
"Excuse me? What are you talking about here Ran-chan?" an ominously sweet voice asked quietly, walking up to the raven haired martial artist, a purpose in their step. Ukyo had overheard everything, and was definitely not a happy camper. "Just what were you doing in the 'dead of the night', that you wouldn't want Nabiki to see, anyway?" she growled.  
  
"NOTHING!" Ranma quickly stated, just about ready to pull his hair out. This was far too much for 8AM in the morning... Especially with the lack of sleep he got last night!...  
  
"Seriously, this is getting blown so out of perportion! I'm going to class," Akane groaned, quickly marching towards the school building, Nabiki in toe. You could only take so much of this kind of behavior, really. A small crowd formed around the remaining couple, watching with interest as Ukyo told Ranma off about staying up late with Akane... Ranma was thoroughly pissed that Akane had abandoned him to the unreasonably angry chef.  
  
"So," Nabiki said in all seriousness as she and Akane walked side by side of the steps to school. "You did have a bad dream last night though, right?"  
  
"Yeah..." Akane sighed.  
  
The infamous old lady, of whom Ranma held responsible for numerous, and untimely, sex changes, was sitting happily on her front porch this morning, gazing out into the distance, an almost secretive sort of smile on her face. Ah yes, it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day in Nerima again... she smiled wider, absent mindidly tapping her now empty water bucket with a stray finger.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, the elderly woman spotted two cats stroll casually down the street, walking together as a couple would, one pitch black, the other stark white. She smiled at their lovely contrast, noting that the black cat with its head facing her, bore a ... perhaps it was a bald patch?... the shape of a crescent moon on her forehead. How peculiar! Abruptly, the two cats stopped walking directly in front of her porch, apparently unaware of the old lady's quiet presence.  
  
"Artimas! That was simply careless of you! A waste too!... those girls don't need us prodding around in their dreams like THAT. Especially when you just go and muddle it all up like you did," the black cat groaned, her voice high pitched and proper, pronouncing all of her words beautifully.  
  
"Ah Luna, don't get angry! I think I got the point across anyway... they know something's up, and that's what counts," the white cat, apparently Artimas, said defensively, his own voice scratchy and very low. "We've prepared them for a shock now,"  
  
"Hardly," Luna snorted. "They don't even remember anything! I put a lot of effort into that dream, and you just ruined it," she sighed. "I suppose we'll have to do it all over again..."  
  
"No, no don't worry about the girl's feelings so much! I mean... not to sound insensitive," Artimas quickly said, noting Luna's speculative expression. " It's just... they can take it. As we've seen, they've dealt with A LOT of weird things in their life-times. This should be no biggy for them!"  
  
"I guess you're right, they are pretty unique... yet still..." Luna murmured, worried, and very frustrated.  
  
"Listen, the whole reason things got messed up was because their powerful auras were so active! I think they can handle it, and I say we tell them sooner than planned! Who knows how much longer this peaceful state will last while she's out there? We need people out there now!" the white cat said firmly.  
  
"Right... I guess you have a point..." Luna acknowledged with a sigh. "But I'm still mad at you for getting overwhelmed by their auras and loosing the connection so abruptly. It would be so much easier if not for you!" she said snidely.  
  
"Hey! Stop going on about that, it was an accident!" Artimas yowled defensively.  
  
"Yes-but a careless one!-And-oh! Oh... dear... Artimas.." Luna said suddenly, quietly, eyes wide.  
  
"What?" Artimas asked, watching his partner's expression darken, and take a slightly nervous turn. Curiously, he turned to see what had Luna so flustered... and soon found his own face reddening.  
  
"Meow?" he offered the old lady, who was staring at he and Luna both with raised eyebrows. At his lame attempt to make up what had been done, she shook her head sadly. What odd times she lived in!  
  
Luna and Artimas took off at a run down the street, extremely embarrassed at their thoughtlessness.  
  
Nabiki stared carefully at the odd sight before her, taking a moment to lower her camera and just enjoy the scene fully. It was quite comical, actually. She snorted as Akane head fell deeper into the crook of Ranma's neck. Yeah, this was definitely priceless. And with the field practically empty too! People would pay good money for these shots.  
  
Lying against the large tree in the yard of Furikan, was Ranma Saotome, head propped up against the bark easily, dead asleep. Next to him him, was Akane. She was leaning on his shoulder now, also asleep, slowly but surely falling more and more onto him. Ranma had one hand on her knee, where her legs curled up next to his.  
  
Oh, but there was more.  
  
On the other side of Ranma, or 'Ran-chan', as she would say, sat Ukyo, snoozing lightly. She had her back up against his shoulder, using him as support, chin falling onto her chest as she lost the battle to keep her head up. Then, finally, head resting on his lap, was an currently unconscious Shampoo, lying down in the soft grass, a small smile on her lips, purple hair splayed out around her. Now she was definitely the one person Nabiki had never expected to find exhausted. She was just so... bouncy!  
  
But, as much as this little scene at lunch amused the teen, it also startled her. It was definite now, something was most certainly up now, and she couldn't deny the fact that it was worrying her. Was there some other wacko around Nermia? Planning to put everyone to sleep so he could kidnap them all, or do some other equally as unpleasant thing? Nabiki pinched her arm lightly as she resisted the urge to go curl up with the four friends, being quite tiered herself. No. Nabiki Tendo, would NOT be found napping with these jokers. Having gotten all of the pictures she needed, the girl quickly stood, carefully put her camera away, and walked towards the school where she would hopefully find a vacant classroom. There she planned to more properly collect her thoughts, and maybe take a little rest before real classes started again... it was time to think things over for real now.  
  
Kasumi heaved a great sigh as she dully prepared a steaming pot of miso soup for that nights dinner. Her movements were slower and less eager to happily finish their task that morning than usual, and her eyes were slightly closed, as though she was taking this quiet moment to take a nap while standing up. Silly nightmares... she hadn't had one since she was just a little girl, for heaven's sake! While she supposed it could just be an effect of hanging around with the Nermia crew too much, it still bothered her some.  
  
"Kasumi?" Soun, looking as normal as ever, asked quietly, entering the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, my! Father!" Kasumi gasped, eyes snapping open. She stifled a yawn as she turned to look at the older man, a pleasant smile gracing her face. "Is their something you need? Dinner will be ready at six, so..."  
  
"No, no it's not that. It's just, you look tired today Kasumi-chan. Is something the matter?" her worried, father asked, now standing next to the pretty young woman. Kasumi tugged on her caramel colored pony tail nervously now. No sense in worrying her father, who knows what would happen if she admitted she had been up for the better party of the night, worrying about a bad dream. No, no sense in distressing the poor old man, his heart couldn't take such things anymore, after all.  
  
"No father, I'm fine... just a little tired, is all. You know, I think I stayed up to late last night reading- silly me! Don't worry yourself," she hastily added.  
  
"Well, all right, if you say so," Soun conceded, figuring his eldest daughter most likely knew best, anyway. "Just... don't get sick, I don't want to have to suffer Akane's cooking, you know!"  
  
"Oh, Father, that's terrible!" Kasumi giggled.  
  
"But a sad truth," Soun sighed, exiting the kitchen with his head bowed. Soun had only just gotten back to his shogi board, dimly wondering if he had been doing just so bad before, when the sound of the door to the front door opening came, and three children returned home from school... on time, for a change.  
  
"We're baaack!" Akane chirped, walking through the living room, and then up the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder, eager to get to her room so she could finish up her homework, and then spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Ranma quickly followed her up, his mind working in much the same way.  
  
"See you at dinner," he called to generally everyone downstairs.  
  
It was Nabiki who came in last, shoulders hunched, eyes half lidded, and looking as though she was seriously thinking something over. Kasumi watched her travel to the staircase from the kitchen.  
  
"Are you okay Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi called, wiping her hands on her apron.  
  
"What?- Oh, um, I'm fine," Nabiki said, waving Kasumi's sisterly concern off. Then, after another second of thinking, she turned back to Kasumi, and said in a slightly quieter voice: "But, could I talk to you later?"  
  
"Why of course, Nabiki!" Kasumi said, all smiles. Nabiki nodded her thanks, and then made her way up to her own room.  
  
After Nabiki had left, Kasumi wondered with a worried frown just what her sister wanted to discuss.  
  
"What- you're sure they're gone- you're positive?... No way... NO freaking way!" A pause. "What? Well of COURSE I am! This is a golden, once in a life time opportunity, after all! I'll have the run of this town, there's no one more powerful than I am at this point! It'll be like Christmas come early!" An evil cackle. "Hm? Well... Fine, fine you can come to, just get ready quickly. Those scouts are tricky, who knows when they'll be back? Right.. right, bye." She hung up the telephone with a definite click, a cruel smile twisting her ruby red lips into an unattractive position.  
  
"I would have never believed it to be true but... It is. I can feel in my bones. The absence of their terrible, troublesome presence. They're really off the planet, and now Tokyo is mine!" The tall, thin woman chortled, a pair of purple, flashing eyes staring into the darkness of her apartment. A pair of hands with long red nails like claws undid her confining bun, and letting a head of silver blonde hair fall to the ground around her. Her form was thin yet curvy, showing signs of someone who knew out to work out. No more hiding, no more running, no more fear. The might sailor scouts and their leader Sailor Moon were really gone... and as long as they were, Ristuko was going to have some fun!  
  
To be continued.  
  
A/N  
  
Soooo... what did you think..? Was it JUST another Sailor Moon/Ranma cross over, or was it something maybe better? Well, give me all your reviews, (just, all of them!) and keep in mind that the more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter comes out! Thanks for reading,  
  
~Rio (papya41@aol.com) 


	2. Where Have All the Sailor Scouts Gone?

Hey all! Welcome to chapter one of my Ranma 1/2/Sailor Moon crossover! Please, please, please don't feel shy to review and comment on any errors you see, I need all the help I can get! Also, the more reviews, the faster I work! So keep them coming!  
  
I don't own Ranma 1/2 OR Sailor Moon.  
  
*NOTE- I feel so lame... last time, I spelled my own e-mail address wrong. It's papaya41@aol.com... not papya. Heh. Right. Sorry about that.  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Chapter One: Where Have all the Sailor Scouts Gone?!  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't like the sound of this. A normal nightmare wouldn't leave you so drained." Cologne repeated for the umpteenth time that evening. "Or frightened... I smell a rat ..." the old woman grumbled quietly, turning away from her purple haired descendent, and hopping on her cane over to a table where a distressed white goose wearing a pair of glasses was stuffed precariously into a small cage...  
  
"Aiyah.. don't worry Grandmother, I ... I shouldn't have brought it up anyway. It's no big thing. I'm probably just tired from working here at the restaurant." Shampoo replied in her native tongue, sighing. She lay back farther into her seat, gazing around the Neko Hattan thoughtfully as she spoke. "drained anyway, just sleepy,"  
  
"Have you lived in Nermia for nearly two years now only to learn nothing?" Cologne snapped, irritably. " Cologne concluded, whacking the duck over the head in an effort to shut up its inane quacks. Shampoo winced as the duck collapsed comically on its side. Mouse...  
  
"" Shampoo asked, cocking her head. "But from whom? Should I be worried?"  
  
"Not just yet... As you said the dream wasn't entirely bad... just ominous. Who knows, maybe it's a good omen."  
  
"Maybe it's a good omen about Ranma and I!" Shampoo giggled hopefully, much to the duck's distress.  
  
"Perhaps," Cologne conceded, bowing her head in thought. "On the other hand, it could be warning you about dangers to come, perhaps a terrible battle... I don't like it, either way, but as of yet there is nothing I can do." Cologne sighed after a second, scratching her head thoughtfully. Maybe you're right, anyway, maybe you ARE just tired from working at the Neko Hattan... I'll remember to give you more breaks," Shampoo clapped her hands together, happily. "Still, Granddaughter, keep an eye out for any suspicious happenings, and be extra careful. I don't want anything happening to you,." the withered woman added, rather affectionately. Shampoo beamed.  
  
"Of course, Grandmother," Shampoo agreed, watching the small Amazon hop out of the room without turning back. Shampoo watched her leave with soft purple eyes, until a worry quack reached her ears, and her attention was drawn back to Mouse, still stuck in his cage. The pretty girls expression took on a scowl.  
  
"You," she sighed, shaking her head scornfully. "If you hadn't gone crazy when I told grandmother I wasn't feeling well, she wouldn't have had to put you in that cage! You bring this upon yourself, you stupid male!" she scoffed, folding her arms. The duck gave off a more pitiful quack this time, hanging his head with shame. Shampoo bit her lip as she watched the small animal sigh. After a moment her conscience won an internal battle, and the attractive Amazon teen slowly stood up, walking over to the confined mallard with a considerably kinder expression on her face.  
  
"Here you silly boy, let's get you some clothes and a pot of hot water," she murmured as she unlocked the cage.  
  
*  
  
"Wow... look at that babe!"  
  
"Hott stuff!"  
  
"She's freaking gorgeous!"  
  
"And so flexible..."  
  
As a group of bumbling teenagers continued to drool over her, Ristuko finished her round off on the mats, and turned to glare at them with piercing, cold eyes.  
  
'What are a bunch of idiots like them doing in a gymnasium, anyway?' she thought to herself, adjusting her leotard and marching over to them, her movements graceful and sharp.  
  
Ritsuko was the star of Juban's Gymnastics' team, her trophy case filled to the brim with awards for her various performances and wins throughout the years, starting back when she was a freshman. The blonde had always had an amazing knack for gymnastics, and had been winning competition after competition since she entered high school... but never seemed to care much about boys, no matter how much they seemed to care about her.  
  
"Oh my God... she's coming this way!"  
  
"Shit!... Do I look ok?"  
  
In addition, she was infamous around the school for being the beautiful Ice Queen. She had very little friends, and kept to herself, shrouded in mystery, making her only more appealing to the horny teen. She didn't attend school dances, seemed to be permanently in a bitchy mood, and cared very little about her grades. On the OTHER hand, she had a body to DIE for.  
  
"What are you fools gawking at?" she asked in a low hiss, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. Her glare seemed to penetrate the young men, boring into their souls and forcing shivers down their spines. She knew just how to deal with their kind... she had encountered them one to many times.  
  
"Yo! Babe! No need to get pissed man!... we were just... admiring the view!" one boy cackled, snorting at his own joke, and elbowing his friends helpfully as they began to chuckle as well. Ritsuko rolled her eyes and let off a little sneer.  
  
"How pathetic. You idiots must have brains the size of a grape! Do you have nothing better to do with your lives then stand around and bother people with important training to do?" she questioned, jabbing one boy in the chest with her finger for emphasis.  
  
"Hells no!" another boy joked, smiling wickedly, then quickly wrapping his arm around Ristuko, and pulling the thin girl close to him, head craning down, and going in for the kill...  
  
He was the first to go.  
  
The tricky boy's friends backed away in morbid fascination and horror as the prodigy high school girl quickly returned the kiss with a passion... and then began to suck the life directly out of his body.  
  
"Fuck! What the freak is she doing to 'Yoshi, man!? I don't think he likes her style!" one boy cried in terror, watching as his companion's eyes bulged unpleasantly, and his flailing arms began to shrivel up and rot away right in front of his eyes. His skin purpled and bubbled as the process went on, and Ristuko didn't pull away for a moment, eyes closed in concentration.  
  
Finally, one of the four observing boys had the sense (or lack there of) to step forward and try to pull the homicidal girl away from his quickly dying friend, surprised on just how strong a grip the blonde had on the boy.  
  
"Shit, bitch! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" he cried, yanking her away and throwing her to the ground. The other boys watched in terror as their friend collapsed to the wood floor, and immediately began spasaming and coughing up blood, his skin so damaged he looked like an old mummy.  
  
Ristuko hissed in rage and quickly pulled herself up, blood streaming from her mouth, which had suddenly acquired a nasty looking pair of fangs, and bit into the other boy's stomach with her killer jaws, sinking into his skin as though it were butter, and inwardly smirking as he cried out in pain.  
  
"FUCK!"  
  
The other boys seemed extremely distressed as they watched their next friend start to get sucked dry, before coming to their senses and deciding to all gang up on her at once, giving the whacked up wench a quick death.  
  
None of them came out of the encounter alive.  
  
There was more blood and screams, dismembered body parts and evil laughs, and at the end of it all, Ritsuko stood victorious, breathing heavily, and blood dripping from her hands and mouth, while her pupils continued to dilate erratically. Finally, after surveying the damage she had dealt, and the boys rotting, dried up corpses, a small smile graced her lips.  
  
"I... wasn't even that angry..." she admitted, looking up at the ceiling, as if expecting something. "And... no one is here to stop me..." she added as an after thought, her voiced awed and clearly amazed. "I could go do this to anyone I want... and no one would stop me...YES!" she finally cried, jumping into the air happily, much like an enthusiastic cheer- leader, and doing a little happy dance around the dead teens, flecks of blood whipping around her.  
  
"THERE ARE NO STUPID, ANNOYING LITTLE SAILOR SCOUTS HERE TO STOP ME! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!" she continued to shout, throwing her arms up with joy. It had been SO LONG since she had violently and thoughtlessly maimed a human without fear of being caught and destroyed by the pesky sailor soldiers!  
  
Quickly stopping her joyful rant, Ristuko's eyes suddenly fell on the door out of the gymnasium, and soon her smile had grown even more sinister.  
  
"And I think I will."  
  
*  
  
"C'mon Ranma, PLLEEEAASSEE spar with me!" Akane whined, dashing eagerly after her annoyed fiancée.  
  
"NO way! You KNOW I don't hit girls, and, as you've all too often pointed out to me before, what's the point of sparring with someone if they don't attack back?" Ranma huffed, leaping up a tree in the Tendo's yard and staying there, frowning down at the smaller girl beneath him now.  
  
"Oh come on Ranma! Even just a little?... It's just SPARRING, I used to do it all the time with Dad and it doesn't really hurt at all!" Akane cooed, somehow knowing that it was very important to Ranma to hear that she probably wouldn't be getting TOO injured if the couple just did a short sparring session in the dojo, that whole protective factor coming back into play. And with the sheer mass and variety of weirdos that now dwelled in Nermia, it was sometimes something that Akane really needed from him, too... Not that she would ever admit to THAT, either!  
  
"Well, then, go spar with your father, if it's so safe! Look! He's right over there!" Ranma encouraged, pointing to the middle aged man in question, carefully playing shoji on the deck with a panda, while smoking a cigarette and scheming up to ways to get Ranma and Akane together, forever. Akane gave a flat stare at the young martial artist at this suggestion, and Ranma had to admit it was a silly notion. Soun hadn't sparred with anyone, voluntarily, in years!  
  
"Oh, yeah, capital idea," Akane dead panned, folding her arms, and beginning to get annoyed. What was the BIG deal anyway? He so HAD hit girls before!... just never her.  
  
"Listen, Akane," Ranma sighed, rubbing his head, and still not emerging from his perch in the tree. " I really just DON'T want to spar with you. It makes me... uncomfortable." he decided to say.  
  
"'Uncomfortable?'" Akane repeated, skeptically. "Honestly Ranma, how do you ever expect me to get better and protect myself from all of the freaks who come around here, if you don't help me train!"  
  
"You don't have to protect yourself, I will!" Ranma stated firmly, loudly, before he fully realized just what he had said. Akane's eyes widened, and a small blush spread over her cheeks, as Ranma watched in horror. Had he really just SAID that?  
  
"Whooo, you tell her Ranma!" Nabiki cheered, along with her father's, from the porch. And even as Ranma was quickly forced to back pedal out of the tree, and escape the Tendo's home before his idiot father and Mr. Tendo could arrange yet ANOTHER marriage attempt, a little voice in the back of his head reminded him softly... 'But it's true. I will NEVER let anyone hurt Akane... not anymore.' However, the second thought to cross the boys mind was, 'Shit! I'm going freaking insane!'  
  
*  
  
"Ahhh... young love!" Nabiki crooned in a mocking tone of voice, as Akane quickly dashed up the stairs, not entirely sure why Ranma wanting to protect her affected her this much. It wasn't like she didn't KNOW. He had been protecting her since he first came to Nermia!... he had just never talked about it like that.  
  
"Nabiki! Don't tease Akane like that," Kasumi reprimanded lightly, even though there was a small smile on her face, too.  
  
"All I'm saying is, those two better get their acts together quick, or else something drastic is going to happen in the fiancée department, if you know what I mean. The natives are getting restless out there, and I wouldn't put it past Cologne to get nasty if need be." Nabiki stated in all seriousness, drawing a frown from Kasumi.  
  
"I suppose you are right... but they're just so young! I feel bad for them, it's so much responsibility." she said, putting a hand to her face. Nabiki shrugged.  
  
"Life sucks, so what. In any case, It's not like they wouldn't be happy together, you know they would... but... Kasumi, I wanted to talk to you about something else... I mentioned it yesterday,"  
  
"Oh, yes! You looked so odd yesterday Nabiki-chan, was something wrong?" Kasumi asked, thinking back on not just Nabiki, but everyone's odd state, yesterday.  
  
"Well, first off, did you have a bad dream last night?" Nabiki asked, not beating around the bush.  
  
"Well, actually, yes, I did! Why, did you?"  
  
".Yeah, I did. And so did everyone else and their mother! You, me, Akane, Shampoo and Ukyo all looked like we got punched in the face this morning, and we ALL had ominous dreams. I think Ranma might have had one too... but it's hard to tell with that boy."  
  
"Well, he's always so energetic!"  
  
"Tell me about it. Anyway, seeing as how things like this usually lead to OTHER things like, oh, the apocalypse, I figured I should give it some thought. But so far, I'm just worrying myself. I can hardly remember anything from this dream, and I don't know if all five of us having a bad dream is an odd coincidence or something I should really worry about. Do YOU remember anything from the nightmare?"  
  
"I'm afraid I'm in the same position as you, Nabiki-chan." Kasumi sighed regretfully, seating herself, and Nabiki quickly following suit. "I remember a woman, I think, talking to me. She seemed pretty adamant about what she was saying, and I remember understanding it in the DREAM, but now it's all fuzzy and unclear. What was your dream like?" Nabiki's features had darkened considerably.  
  
"Exactly like that."  
  
"Oh, my."  
  
"Well, you know, honestly. What was I expecting? For this to turn out NORMAL? For this all to just be some fluke ACCIDENT?"  
  
"Yes, we certainly do seem to get our fair share of odd things around here," Kasumi agreed solemnly.  
  
"No shit,"  
  
"Nabiki!"  
  
"Sorry... sorry.. anyway, any ideas on how to approach this? Should we spaz out and go around warning everyone, or keep it to ourselves?" Kasumi bit her lip, and pondered this one for a minute. Nabiki hardly ever came to her with problems, unlike Akane, so she wanted to get this right.  
  
"Well... there's already so much going on, I don't want to frighten people, so I think we should keep this under wraps for just a little while longer. Then, if anything pops up, we can tell Akane or Ranma... maybe even better we should consult Dr. Tofu. He would most likely know about things such as odd sequences of dreams." Kasumi suggested. Nabiki nodded her head approvingly.  
  
"Sounds like a plan. How about you see him tomorrow morning, and I'll keep an eye on things at school. See if I find anything out of the ordinary... or more out of the ordinary than usual..."  
  
"All right. And. I'm glad you came to me, Nabiki. It's good we're taking the initiative on this problem. I really detest feeling helpless when things just pop up as catch us all by surprise. Now. now I feel as though I'm really getting a head start here!" Nabiki watched her elder sister with warm, sad eyes. Kasumi really took pride in being the mother hen of the bunch, but it must be hard to be protective when your children are always getting themselves into situations that the Nermia crew was?  
  
'Maybe I should have done this a while ago.' Nabiki pondered as she wandered back up to her own room, ready for some serious shut-eye.  
  
*  
  
"Luna, this is bad. We have to take action, now." Artemas said, his voice serious, his eyes steely. Luna winced, but nodded her head firmly. He was completely right. for once.  
  
"Yes. I'm afraid this does not bode well at all. I had no idea she would go to these lengths. What is she doing, anyway? Forming an army? Gathering followers?" the black cat questioned.  
  
"It would appear so. Now I suggest we get some followers of our own, before she gets a chance to collect any more monsters for her posse. Fortunately, this was done recently, so she can't have been active for much more than a day now. We were lucky to find this when we did." Artemas said.  
  
"Yes," Luna agreed. The two cats sat in front of a cave. a scorched cave with various large and mean looking scratch marks around its edges. The trees around the cave were ripped literally out of the ground, roots attached, and either torn to paper-thin shreds, or tossed some kilometers away, where they lay innocently among the carnage. Feet tracks the side of car tires made there way out of the wood, following an unsteady and angry path. The two cats followed it with their eyes, delicately sitting around the pieces of rock left over from the explosion within the cave.  
  
"Well. it's time to round 'em up. They have to know what they're getting into," Artemas commented, heading off, Luna quickly following. They had work to do.  
  
*  
  
Akane stretched and yawned, greeting the mornings rays with a small grin, happy that she had gotten a full nights sleep after last nights disaster. Ranma had snuck home around eight that evening, and she had heard him moving around her roof as she was doing her homework. Eventually, as she had known he would, he swung down to her window, and tapped on the glass, requesting entrance. Of course she had let him in, and, after a few harsh words on both parts, the problem had been resolved, Akane actually still a little bit flustered about what Ranma had said earlier. After saying something like that. 'You don't have to, I'll protect you!" -it had been considerably harder to stay angry with him for running away than usual. And, luckily, after that confrontation, Akane had been free to go to bed, and there had been no pesky dreams to bother her slumber. In fact, there had been some rather GOOD dreams, actually involving a certain pig tailed martial artist and.  
  
"Akane, Ranma, Nabiki, breakfast is ready!" Akane heard Kasumi called from the lower levels of the house.  
  
"I'll be right there!" Akane called back, sliding out of bed, and walking over to her dresser, spotting her hairbrush there. Deftly picking it up, and beginning to comb out her blue locks as she did every morning, her movements perfected by habit, it occurred to her that something was. not right. with her reflection. in the mirror.  
  
Frowning, the sixteen year old peeled the sticky note off her forehead, wondering why she hadn't noticed it was attached to her head before.  
  
"What the-?" she asked, reading the note with a wrinkled nose. The message read:  
  
Come to the gym of Furikan High School at 4:00, ALONE. and be prepared. -Luna and Artemas of the Neo Silver Millennium  
  
"Who the heck are 'Luna and Artemas?'" Akane asked no one in particular, shaking her head. "Honestly, can't I go ONE day without some weirdo harassing me?" Crumpling up the message, Akane carelessly threw it in her waste-bin, and quickly finished brushing her hair, all while trying quite hard to forget what she just found. The last thing she needed was more trouble, after all.  
  
  
  
"Akane? Hey Akkkaannnee.Hello! Akane!"  
  
"Hu!? " Akane asked, head snapping up, eyes wide and alert. "What? What!"  
  
"Jeez it's nothing!" Sayuri said, putting her hands up in a defense motion. "You just look really zoned out and I thought you might want to know that class was over,"  
  
".It is?" Akane asked, generally surprised. "But it just started!" she protested.  
  
"Yeah, forty-five minutes ago! You were completely in another world all class, and I highly doubt you took any notes," her friend stated plainly. Akane sighed because she knew it was true. Honestly, she had been thinking about that NOTE all class. Should she go to the gym, should she not go to the gym? Should she go alone, should she bring someone? Should she even tell anyone about the note at all? Or keep it to herself? And just WHO wanted to meet her at the gym? Probably not any of the fiancées. they rarely signed their names 'Luna and Artemas of the Neo Silver Millennium', after all. Kuno? Probably note. He liked to see his name on paper too much. Not Nabiki, not Kasumi. definitely not Ranma. The list of weirdos she knew was dwindling, and Akane could only come up with the assumption that some KNEW freak in town had given her the letter. This also meant that, out of pure morbid curiosity, Akane would probably end up at the gym that afternoon.  
  
"Hey, you want to go to lunch or what?" Sayuri asked, raising an eyebrow. "You look kinda sick, actually, maybe you should check in with the nurse first?"  
  
"I look sick? Really? Shoot." Akane sighed, standing up and following her friend out the door. "Why can't I just have a normal day?" she asked the heavens, heaving a sigh. Well, at least things with her and Ranma were relatively calm so far, and no fiancée troubles as of yet. That was ALWAYS a plus.  
  
"Eeek!" Sayuri cried as the duo stepped outside the classroom.  
  
"I jinxed it, I definitely jinxed it." Akane dead panned as she was quickly covered in a blanket of black roses, accompanied by the sound of an ear piercing chortle that sounded suspiciously like it belonged to Kodachi.  
  
*  
  
"I want to thank you again for agreeing to this," Ritsuko said, leaning back in her chair, and drumming her long, poisonous red nails on the side as she spoke.  
  
"Gh." The Disformunous yoma commented. "You free me, I help you." Ritsuko nodded happily, looking up at the large monster. The Disformunous Yoma was a far cry from being an attractive monster, or even a presentable one. It's arms were large and bulky, it stood at about 7'5, it's chest was about as white as a three 'W' magazines lined up horizontally, and it's large jaws had a terrible over-bite. The skin was tinted purple, and its beady green eyes had the rumored nasty tendency to shoot out deadly lazar beams. Just your generic, brainless monster.  
  
"True, true," Ritsuko agreed." And I'm glad you are in a reasonable mood today."  
  
The Disformunous made another "Gh" sound, and Ritsuko decided it was high time she got right to heart of the matter. "Now. the reason I need your help is. well.there is a certain artifact I need, from the Tokyo Museum of Ancient Jewelry. it's called the 'Glowing Stone Necklace.'" she said, her eyes glittering dangerously. "And simply. I want you to get it for me." The Disformunous cocked its ugly head at Ritsuko, thinking this one over. Finally, it uttered:  
  
"You strong. Why no you get it?" Ritsuko grinned in such a cat like manner that one could almost see the ears sprout out of her pretty head.  
  
"Now that, my lovely Disformunous, is for me to know, and you to find out. Remember, I freed you from your prison, where those wretched Sailor Scouts had you. and now you owe me. I don't think I need an explanation for a task as simply as this. I'm not even asking you to kill anyone." She purred convincingly. The Disformunous didn't really need any encouraging after that convincing pep talk though, and it nodded dutifully, its small brain totally won over.  
  
"'Kay" It mumbled, slowly turning, and lurching out of the dark room, leaving Ritsuko alone, chuckling quietly to herself. *  
  
Not so surprisingly, Akane found herself, around 3:45 that afternoon, fully Ranma ridden, (she had convinced him she was staying after school for a study hall. an all girls study hall. an all girls study all that didn't allow red heads.!) walking down the hall towards the gym. However, QUITE surprisingly, she found a certain Amazon making the trek with her.  
  
"What you doing here?" Shampoo asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.  
  
"Well, I could ask you the same thing!" Akane replied curtly, already pointing fingers in her mind. Had Shampoo really been the one to give her the letter? She wouldn't put it past her. but.  
  
"Shampoo invited here!" the girl informed Akane, as they both stood outside the doors to the gym. "What Violent Kitchen Destroyer doing here?" she questioned sharply.  
  
".Wait, you were invited here?" Akane asked, putting her hand to her chest, and biting her lip. "Umm. this might sound a little weird, but, was there a sticky note attached to your head this morning?"  
  
"Aiyah! So it was you! Why you make Shampoo come here? She have work to do!" Shampoo huffed, folding her arms.  
  
"No! No I DIDN'T invite you here! Someone put a sticky note on MY head this morning as well! I was invited here too!" Akane quickly assured the buxom girl.  
  
"You sure?" Shampoo asked, just for good measure.  
  
"Yes I'm sure!" Akane sighed, rubbing her head. She had finished off her aspirin supply during science, and was now sourly wishing she hadn't.  
  
"But. if you no do it. then who?.." Simultaneously, both girls turned to look at the gym doors, frowns on their pretty faces. The answer was obviously inside.  
  
"You guys goin' in or what?" a voice from behind them asked, and both Akane and Shampoo jumped, turning to look at who had posed the question.  
  
"Uyko?" both girls squeaked.  
  
"Nabiki and Kasumi too?" Akane asked, shaking her head as she watched both of her sisters wave to her from behind the okanamiyaki chef's back. "Let me guess. you guys got invited here also?" Akane deadpanned.  
  
"How did you know?" asked Nabiki. It just got weirder and weirder.  
  
"Because Shampoo and I did, too!" Akane replied, throwing her hands up in a show of utter bafflement.  
  
"Do we know who asked us to come here?" Ukyo asked, fingering her spatula.  
  
"Nope, we're totally clueless."  
  
"Oh, my. How disturbing," Kasumi commented, trading worried glances with Nabiki, both thinking the same thing. Did this have something to do with the dream? All of the same people were here. so.  
  
"Well, you know, the only way to find out who asked us here, is to go in." Ukyo said, throwing her comment towards Shampoo and Akane, who were still standing firmly in front of the doors.  
  
"I don't want to rush blindly in," Akane admitted. She had been through enough in her lifetime already to be cautious about running into large, open spaces because a couple named 'Luna and Artemas of the Neo Silver Millennium' asked you to.  
  
"Well, neither do I, but it doesn't look as though we have much of a choice here. unless you want to enter through the windows." Ukyo said blatantly. Not liking THAT idea, Nabiki quickly darted forward.  
  
"Oh come on little sis', there's five of us! It shouldn't be a problem! I mean, what. are you scared?" she asked, knowing JUST what buttons to press, after years of hard practice. Sure enough, Akane got all huffy and moved to the side.  
  
"Well. well no! I just want us to be careful," she insisted, as Shampoo opened the doors cautiously, not all to sure about this idea herself.  
  
"Hello?" she called to the large, empty gym. And as everyone poured in, quietly inspecting their surroundings, and finding nothing out of the normal, in occurred to them all that the whole thing might be just a hoax.  
  
"It doesn't look like anyone's here, maybe we should just leave-" Nabiki started.  
  
"Excuse me, but there is most certainly someone here! Two someone's in fact!" a proper little voice called out, and immediately all five heads shot to the side. "Down here," the voice added as they all floundered around, looking for a source.  
  
"Oh, my!" Kasumi repeated, looking at the small black cat, and her white partner, sitting a few feet away from the girls. They had hardly noticed them! "But. your just a little kitty," Kasumi said, going down to scratch the white one under the chin. Unable to resist Kasumi's overwhelming motherly vibes, Artemas found himself purring into the nineteen year olds hand like a common house cat.  
  
"Artemas, now is not the time,"  
  
"Sorry! Sorry!"  
  
"Excuse me. but are you talking?" Nabiki asked, just wanting to get that all cleared up.  
  
"Well. yes  
  
"Oh. All right, just wanted to make sure," the brunette said, folding her arms and shrugging.  
  
"So, what did you want to see us for?" Akane asked, curiously.  
  
"You girls seem to be taking this extremely well," Artemas said, impressed. "Usually people run screaming when they hear us talk for the first time.  
  
"We've seen odder things," Nabiki admitted nonchalantly, shrugging. "But, time is money kitties, and we want to know why you stuck sticky notes to our heads this morning," At this the cats demeanor seemed to get a lot more serious, and Kasumi backed away a little.  
  
"Actually, we have something of a grave nature to discuss with you girls, and you must listen carefully!" Artemas informed them all. The girls stared at the two small house animals for a second, biting their lips, and shifting from foot to foot. before Shampoo let a little bit of a giggle slip out, and Ukyo and Akane quickly followed suit, chuckling into their hands. Nabiki snorted delicately, turning her head to the side, and Kasumi just smiled.  
  
"What? What's so funny?" Artemas asked as Ukyo suddenly doubled over in laughter.  
  
"S-sorry." Ukyo breathed, getting a hold of herself. "But you just looked so FUNNY! I mean. I mean. you're a cat! And-and-" she dissolved into laughter again, Akane nodding along with her, saying 'Something of a grave nature! S-something. grave.Bwahaha!"  
  
"This. is so degrading." Luna said flatly, as the girls laughed in their faces, unable to contain themselves at the oddity of the situation. They had seen a lot, true, but this was just plain amusing.  
  
"S-sorry," Nabiki said after a moment, whipping a stray tear away. "Continue, go on! We didn't mean to interrupt, honestly!"  
  
"Hmph. I don't think I'll BE continuing now, thanks very much!" Artemas scoffed, frowning deeply. Honestly! Of all the nerve.  
  
"No, please continue kitties! You had something important to say!" Kasumi urged, looking worried. She really hadn't meant to insult them!  
  
"'Of a grave nature!'" Ukyo whispered into Akane's ear, as the blue haired girl tried bravely not to giggle.  
  
"You know, if you girls weren't the only thing between the possible total destruction of Tokyo, we might just leave you right here and now!" Luna sighed. "But. seeing as how you are, we will put up with your childish antics-But just this once!"  
  
"Oh, thank you," Nabiki said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Now, as I was saying, you girls are needed for a special purpose now!" Artemas continued, that righteous tone of voice back with a vengeance. "The world is vulnerable right now, since the Sailor Scouts are currently battling in a different galaxy for the protection of-"  
  
"Excuse me! Excuse me. did you just say, Sailor Scouts?" Nabiki repeated, arms folded as she leaned over to look the cat in the eye.  
  
"Why, yes," Luna answered for Artemas.  
  
"Okaay." Nabiki said, making koo-koo motions with her hands to the other girls, who nodded solemnly in agreement.  
  
"While the scouts are away, Earth is in grave peril, and we need some. back ups, so to speak, who will defend the world in their absence! That's where you five come in," Artemas said, squaring his shoulders, his voice dead serious.  
  
"So, wait. you want us to be the Sailor Scouts replacements while they're away," Akane summed up, not too sure if she had this right.  
  
"In a nut-shell. yes." Artemas admitted.  
  
"Well, this sucks." Ukyo said, frowning. "Usually the way it works is you just get to BE the super-hero! Not their REPLACEMENT! That's so lame!"  
  
"Aiyah, Shampoo no want to be stupid fill in." the Amazon agreed, placing her hands on her hips. "We getting gypped. Fight way better than those silly Sailor Scouts, anyway. I see on TV! They silly!" Shampoo enthused.  
  
"I know this may not seem like an appealing job to you girls. but we need you! We have reason to believe that a violent criminal is out and about in Tokyo now that the Scouts are away, and there is no telling what she could do from now to the time the scouts return! If you don't help, the results could be disastrous!" Luna said, an edge of desperation to her voice.  
  
"Oh, great, so, on top of it being a lame job, it's highly DANGEROUS too. I like that!" Akane laughed.  
  
"Not to mention that the Sailor Scouts are fictional characters." Nabiki said in a matter-o-factly tone of voice.  
  
"Umm. isn't that like the pot calling the kettle?" Artemas pointed out. "What?"  
  
"Neeevvermind." the feline said, wisely.  
  
"Nabiki's right though, the Sailor Scouts aren't real!" Ukyo stated.  
  
"Then how do you explain us?" asked Luna, arching an eyebrow.  
  
"You're a talking animal! So what? I can do talking animals. They're reasonable. But Sailor Scouts? Oh please." Ukyo said, smiling knowingly.  
  
"The Sailor Scouts are very real, and you would do well to listen to us, too!" Luna spat, fed up with the girls intolerable attitudes. Really, in all her years..!  
  
"Do you have any proof of their existence?" Nabiki questioned, raising an eyebrow. To this question, Luna actually smiled, an action which sent chills down the senior's spine.  
  
"Actually. yes, I do. Girls!" she announced loudly, so that she had everyone's full attention. "Prepare to see your destiny!"  
  
"Destiny? Our destiny is to replacements? That's so depressing!"  
  
"Shut up!" Luna squawked, as the crescent moon on her forehead began to glow an un-Earthly light, that made everything around it an eerie yellow color. The girls shrunk back the tiniest bit as the light stormed its way towards them, suddenly wishing they hadn't been QUITE so rude to the talking animals.  
  
"AHHHHH!" the girls, as a whole, screamed, as the light fully engulfed them with its powerful aura, and they felt themselves change.  
  
* Downtown, the large Disformunous stomped its way along the street, scaring people off the sidewalk and onto the other side, not bother to hide its horrid form, or be in any way inconspicuous. People were calling the police, scared out of their wits, as the God ugly creature made its way slowly, but surely to the Museum, leaving large, cracked footprints in the cement where it had stepped. Nermia was weird, it was true, however, it didn't make happenings like this any less startling! *  
  
Akane gasped sharply as her world became a blanket of pure white, sparkling and wonderful. she closed her eyes almost involuntarily, a small smile gracing her lips. Ribbons of power that weighed nothing at all encircled her body, wrapping around her limbs, and she felt a beating warmth in her chest become raw energy. It created its own light and took her with it as it became something so powerful Akane felt like she was an entirely new person. the light. it was so foreign, and yet so entirely familiar. She embraced it. And then was power and love itself, if just for that one moment. She could do anything! She had been meant to play this role, she suddenly knew it. Illuminating her surroundings now was a bright pink aura that didn't necessarily represent her. but something bigger in the scheme of things. And when she opened her eyes, chocolate brown eyes, filled with curiosity.she was no longer Akane Tendo. But.Was she wearing. a blue pleated mini skirt?! *  
  
Kasumi gasped as she felt a sudden chill overcome her.she hadn't thought the light would be cold, but it was! It was freezing, and soon she was twirling around in place for no particular reason she could disconcert. Her eyes were still open, and she could make out dazzling blue streams of sparkly ice. There was something magical all around her now, and she suddenly wanted to grasp it, an idea totally uncharacteristic of her, but now fitting. Reaching out, her own, soft brown eyes filled with wonder, she was swiftly falling downward into a large mirror. no. it wasn't a mirror! It was water! And as she felt herself splash through it, a surge of power raced through her, and when she broke back up to the surface, gasping, but miraculously dry. she was no longer Kasumi Tendo. Kasumi Tendo did NOT have three ear piercings! Everyone knew that! *  
  
Nabiki cried out as the light fell over her, and it was searing and hot. She was overwhelmed and helpless, as it came at her in rings of burning light. Quickly, she realized it wasn't normal fire as it circled her body perfectly, feeling as though it had been made to fit her aura and power. and then everything escalated to a new height of awareness as she felt a new sensation enter her blood. She had never been so strong! Is this what she had been missing out on? Is this what all of those martial artists felt like all day long? Almost unconsciously, Nabiki smiled, as she was quickly pulled in a downward spiral, closer to the heat. She let it take her this time, like a river, to its source, and when she reached it. there was a brief explosion inside her, before she was back to where she began, and suddenly everything felt cooler than before, as though nothing could compare to what had just happened to her . to her soul, too, maybe? She was no longer Nabiki Tendo. Nabiki Tendo didn't have red pumps! But now that she did, she didn't really mind. *  
  
Ukyo gasped, and her hair stood on end. What was going on? Zipping all around her, and confusing her to the point of no return, were colorful spurts of electricity, mostly green, zapping her and pushing her into totally random positions. She thought she should be shocked or electrocuted or something equally as unpleasant when the electricity made contact, but as the lightening formed a fascinating pattern, and took her into it, she felt elated, not hurt. Better. Stronger. More powerful than ever before. She curled up into fetal position and let it go, as there was a humungous boom of thunder somewhere, and a searing light blinded her momentarily. She was gone for a second, a terrifying second. and then she was exited once more as she was zoomed back, smiling and ready for anything. She was no longer Ukyo Kuonji! Ukyo Kuonji didn't where white gloves. Hell, for that matter, who did? * Shampoo tried to contain a squeal of terror as she was pulled into something that was startling and.a particularly vibrant color of orange. Shapes she couldn't make out, but looked disturbingly like hearts, swirled around her, and her hair floated all about her form as she tried to gain her footing, but simply found herself spinning out of control into a black whole of pure energy and love power of the likes she had never experienced. Enticed by the idea of obtaining that kind of power, she let herself be totally surrounded by the chains of flying light, slowly closing her violet eyes as it washed over her. There was a final bang of light, and then her entire body underwent a change that sent her soaring back to where she began, everything more solid and real now. How and she gotten so powerful? What was this energy? She smiled. She was no longer Shampoo of the Amazons. Shampoo of the Amazons didn't where a tiara! Though it was a cute idea. *  
  
".So." Nabiki, the first one to gain her voice back, asked after a moment of stunned silence on everyone's part. "What was THAT?"  
  
"THAT," Luna replied, physically unable to keep a teasing tone out of her voice, replied. "Was your sailor scout transformation. Usually you have to activate it. but. I didn't think I was going to be able to make you girls shout 'Planet Power Make Up!', just yet."  
  
And in thinking that you were right." Akane croaked flatly, looking down at her body in shock. WHAT was she WEARING? A sailor fuku? She examined her gloved hands, pulled at her revealing sailor top, and eyed her knee high boots and bare thighs guardedly. Err. wait. was she wearing a tiara around her forehead?!  
  
"I used to watch Sailor Moon all the time! Oh, I feel like a cartoon character!" Kasumi laughed, pulling at her short, light blue mini skirt.  
  
"As oppose to..?" Artemas asked.  
  
Shampoo walked around in a little circle, testing out her orange heals with ankle high straps, and finding them surprisingly easy to move in. If she had known heals were so easy to handle, she would have converted years ago! However, she had a feeling that these weren't exactly normal heals.  
  
"This what sailor scouts really wear?" she asked, critically, finding it hard to imagine a bunch of super heroes running around and saving the day in outfits like THESE. they just weren't practical!  
  
"Yes," Luna confirmed. "You now are equipped with all of the accessories and powers of the Sailor Scouts, in order to protect Earth.- Temporarily of course." she added.  
  
"Again, with the lameness!" Nabiki sighed, while tugging experimentally at her red choker.  
  
"Now, you must take this position seriously! You may be a surrogate  
  
scout, but don't forget you are a scout now none the less! Take this job with pride! Don't be an embarrassment to our honorable history!" Artemas encouraged, a bit forcefully. The girls all traded hesitant glances, holding a silent conversation, before sighing together, and conceding to the animal's wishes.  
  
"Fine. we'll play along for now. This whole thing feels real enough anyway. I guess it wouldn't hurt to help you." Akane admitted, shrugging dispassionately. She had always had a soft spot for people, er, things, in need, in any case.  
  
"Yeah, besides, Sailor Moon is big wimp, so, this be easy job for us." Shampoo added helpfully.  
  
"Sailor Moon is most certainly NOT a wimp!" Luna snapped irritably, glaring at the cocky girl.  
  
"Just so I have the fine print down. how long exactly do you we have to have to hold this position?" Nabiki asked. Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo might be strong martial artists, but what could she and Kasumi add to the group? She still wasn't so sure about this whole idea, and didn't want to be a part of it for too long.  
  
"Actually. we're not exactly positive on that one. Not an unreasonable amount of time, we're sure, but, the thing is-" Artemas began, cut off in mid explanation by a surprised yelp from his partner.  
  
"Artemas! Something's up!" Luna yowled, blinking, and swiftly summoning a floating laptop to her, her senses tipped off my some sort of internal alarm system, signaling danger.  
  
"Damn, I got to get me on of those," Nabiki whispered to Akane, watching the highly advanced laptop work with hungry eyes. All of the girls waited uneasily as the two felines typed some problematical looking codes into the computer, muttering a string of what sounded suspiciously like curses in another language. Was it. Latin?  
  
"Shit, it's already started!" Artemas spat, aggravated. "Girls, there's a Disformunous down town trying to break into the Tokyo Museum of Ancient Jewelry! The police are on it, but, I'm afraid this sort of yoma is bullet proof. They wont be able to hold It off much."  
  
"Eh?" Ukyo asked, flatly.  
  
"We can't stop it on our own, and we have a feeling it could be after one of the more. magical. items in the museum. It must not get its hands on that artifact!" Luna said, shifting into business mode.  
  
"And you want us to stop it?" Akane asked, not all too sure what a Disformunous was, but already positive she didn't like the sound of it.  
  
"Yes, this will be a wonderful chance to prove yourself, in any case, since you already believe you're greater than sailor Moon. this demon is a low class one. he should be no problem," the pedantic cat said breezily. All of the girls turned to glare at a slightly abashed looking Shampoo.  
  
"But. you haven't even taught us about our powers yet!" Kasumi, also wary about doing any actual fighting, pointed out.  
  
"Oh, they'll come to you. besides, you've been through worse. right?" Artemas said, wickedly.  
  
"That's right we have!" Akane snapped, peeved at having the tables turned on her. "We'll go beat that monster and be back in time for dinner!"  
  
"Um. Akane honey. the thing's bullet proof, maybe you shouldn't be going around saying stuff like that." Ukyo offered, showing wisdom beyonde her years for this inference.  
  
"Most everything we fight is bullet proof, Ukyo! Now come on guys, are we going to do this, or are we going to do this?" Akane questioned the assembled group of kinky looking teens. They all glanced briefly at one another, shrugged, and nodded.  
  
"Sure, we whip yoma butt and save museum!" Shampoo enthused. And with that all of the girls quickly sashayed out of the gym, confidant and ready.  
  
"Are you sure they're ready for this?" Luna asked Artemas softly after they had all left, feeling slightly guilty for egging them on like that, come to think of it. "It's true, we DIDN'T prepare them for this. they don't know what they're doing!"  
  
"Ahhh. they'll be fine," he replied, biting his lip. nervously. "But. just in case. maybe we should follow them! You know, give them some helpful pointers for the fight?"  
  
"Good idea!"  
  
*  
  
And, somewhere in the city, Ritsuko let out a full-blown cackle.  
  
NOTES: Did you like it? I finished this one just about two minutes ago. and this is actually pretty fun! Thanks again for reviewing, and plleeassee make that habit a continuing pattern! Look out for the next chapter: 'In Over Our Heads? Nooo.' It'll also have more actual Ranma in it (sorry he was so unappreciated in this chapter.) and you'll find out exactly which scouts the girls are, if you hadn't guessed already!  
  
Rio~ 


	3. In Over Our Heads? Nooo

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews, I really liked them! They're so . so. exiting! I'm just not USED to them! Sorry about the misspelling of Artemis AGAIN. Artimas Artemas. but I think I've definitely got it down now! . Yeah, I'm rather slow, when it comes right down to it. But I'm sure you've all already picked up on that one, my smart, intelligent readers! In any case, I've decided to point out, again, I believe, that Ranma's NOT going to be a Sailor Scout, OR Tuxedo Mask. It's just not going to work. Not to say he's not going to have a large part in the story. He's just not going to wear a cape or throw flowers at the villains. You'll see. It'll happen. Don't you worry. Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½.  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande Chapter Two: In Over Our Heads? Nooo.  
  
  
  
"Ranma, my Boy," Genma called, entering the hovel (well, ever since he moved in) of a room he and his son inhabited. The person in question glanced up briefly from his comic, (he rarely ever did his homework unless Akane was around to encourage him.) before quickly looking back down.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"Have you seen the girls, Ranma? It's almost six already and Kasumi hasn't started dinner, no word from Nabiki, and you're not with Akane!" Genma stated, emphasizing the last point with a slight growl.  
  
"Hey, we don't have to be attached at the hip all day long, you know!"  
  
"No!- But that's actually a very creative idea."  
  
"Pops! Jeez!"  
  
"Anyway! HAVE you seen any of them?" Genma asked, shaking his head.  
  
"No," Ranma quickly replied. "Wait. well, I know Akane is doing a study hall at the school," he admitted.  
  
"Fine, so we know where Akane is. But where's Kasumi? She has to feeeed us!" he whined piteously. Ranma gave off a disgusted look and turned the next page of Tenchi Muyo. Man, this guy had even more problems than HE did! "If you're so worried about it, why don't you call Dr. Tofu?"  
  
"Already did it. He hasn't heard from her. though I think I put him into a coma when I mentioned her name."  
  
"Kuno? He might know where Nabiki is."  
  
"Do YOU want to call that guy?"  
  
".Fine. Okay. Valid point."  
  
"Ranma, you know this only leaves one other option." Genma said, folding his arms importantly, eyes flashing.  
  
"Awwww! Come on Dad, I just started this comic! And it's good!"  
  
"You must go out and find them boy! It'll be dark soon and it's not safe for young women to be out alone!"  
  
"I highly doubt ANYTHINGS going to happen to THOSE three." Ranma pointed out.  
  
"Ranma, they could be kidnapped, locked in a basement somewhere, terrified out of their minds, RIGHT NOW! And you're sitting here reading a COMIC!?"  
  
".You're really hungry, hu?"  
  
"I'm about to eat Soun. Now go, hurry!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Ranma sighed, standing up (Why did HE always have to rescue the girls?) and stretching leisurely. only to have the wind knocked forcefully out of him as his father booted him out the window, in the general direction of Furiken High, while his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "YOU JEEEERRRrrrkkk." he screamed as he disappeared into the horizon.  
  
"Hurry back, son!" Genma called cheerfully, waving his son off with a broad smile.  
  
*  
  
"So, a Disformunous is a low class demon. which means we should be able to get rid of it fairly quickly, right?" Kasumi asked, thoroughly surprised she wasn't panting, even though she had already sprinted fifteen blocks in high-healed boots. There was something about these outfits. and she felt so much stronger! Maybe this whole Sailor Scout idea wasn't so bad, after all.  
  
"Um, I guess," Akane replied, not at all sure what to expect. Out of experience, the worst, but Luna had made it sound so easy. "Why, something you need to be doing?" Akane asked, jokingly.  
  
"Well. um. there is dinner."  
  
"Relax Onne-chan! I'm sure everyone will forgive you if you're a BIT late." Akane assured the woman.  
  
"Are we talking about the same family?" Kasumi asked, flatly.  
  
"Not to worry, Kasumi," Luna commented, catching up to the five girls, with Artemis at her side, taking bounding leaps to keep up with the girls run.  
  
"Luna, Artimas! What are you doing here?" asked Ukyo, as she ran along side Shampoo. Slightly behind the two girls was Nabiki, also amazed at her notable running time. She never USED to be able to do this.  
  
"Well, we thought we were being a little harsh, just sending you out as we did, so unprepared. we didn't even tell you what Sailor Scout you will each be replacing!" Luna said, in a slightly bashful tone.  
  
"Does it matter?" Shampoo asked, blatantly. "All is different is skirt colors! And this color clash with hair!" she pointed out, referring to her vivid orange skirt, and flamboyantly purple hair.  
  
"It definitely matters!" Artemis argued. "Depending on what Sailor you are, you get different specialized powers to help you fight!"  
  
"Yes, and while we know some of you already have incredible strengths. they might not be the sort of skills that will be useful to you when fighting comas. That's why you have Sailor powers now, as well."  
  
Having reached the museum, the group came to a halt, glancing briefly at the building, before turning back to the cats, looking at them expectantly.  
  
"Well then, what Scouts are we? Hurry up, we have a priceless artifact to save, here!" Ukyo reminded everyone.  
  
"Right!" Artemis agreed, glad the girls were taking the initiative on this one. "Now. Kasumi," the white cat turned to look at the woman first, who widened her eyes and clutched her hands to her chest self-consciously.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You are Sailor Mercury, Sailor Scout of ice and wisdom!" the cat declared, dramatically. Kasumi blushed.  
  
"Wisdom? Oh, my. but I didn't even go to college! That doesn't seem logical." Calmly ignoring the girl, Artemis turned to the next scout.  
  
"Nabiki! You are Sailor Mars, Scout of fire and war!"  
  
"Cheerful." The girl commented, folding her arms. War? What sort of peace loving super hero represented war?  
  
"Ukyo!"  
  
"Present!"  
  
"You are Sailor Jupiter! Sailor Scout of thunder and protection."  
  
"Just thunder? What about lightening?" the chef asked, curiously.  
  
"Well. that too."  
  
"Yippee!" she cheered.  
  
"Um. and Shampoo! You're Sailor Venus, scout of love and beauty," Artemis declared, continuing, unfazed.  
  
"Too true." Shampoo agreed, nodding earnestly, as everyone else made gagging motions behind her back.  
  
"Then last, but certainly not least," Luna said, butting in. "Is Akane. leader of the five scouts, you are Sailor Moon. The Moon princess's replacement."  
  
"A princess, hm? Not too shabby," Akane commented, smiling.  
  
"Princess's replacement," Luna reminded, helpfully.  
  
"Fine, steal my thunder!"  
  
"Umm. guys." Nabiki whispered, as the ground began to shake beneath her feet. Everyone dropped to their knees to keep from falling over, as birds all around them soared from their perches on various trees, to the sky, cawing violently. Cars rattled uneasily in their spaces and there was the distant sound of screaming children. followed by a pounding roar of anger. "Yeah, that was coming from inside the museum. definitely inside the museum." Nabiki sighed.  
  
"How scary," Kasumi commented, standing up after tremor had passed, carefully flexing her legs.  
  
"Well, looks like its time to go in then." Akane stated, glancing a little more warily at the museum this time.  
  
"Just a low class demon, right?" Nabiki asked Luna.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Come on guys!" Akane sighed, strengthening her resolve, suddenly. "Let's just get this over with! Don't think about it! Just go!"  
  
"Yeah, GREAT advise."  
  
"Come on!" Akane said, starting off by herself, dashing towards the entrance. expertly dodging the crazed stream of museumgoers who were storming out of the building, desperate to get away from the deformed monster. Ukyo and Shampoo followed closely behind her, Nabiki and Kasumi shortly after them, needing a little more mental prep talk before they could haphazardly throw themselves into the path of Disformunous. whatever the HELL that was.  
  
"Excuse me! Pardon me! Sorry me! Excuse me! Pardon me!" the girls chorused as they elbowed their way through the doors. Finally squeezing through the sea of terrified people, not exactly a comforting sight to begin with, they fell unceremoniously onto their butts in the main hall, safely out of harms way.  
  
"Those people really violent," Shampoo mentioned, eyeing her ripped back bow with a critical eye, while re-adjusting her tiara.  
  
"Sounds like all of the action is going on in the Hall of Ancient Chinese Jewels." Ukyo said, pointing towards a hall that indeed did look to have a lot of action going on in it. Glass cases, doors, priceless pieces of jewelry and people were being tossed out of it as though they were weightless. All of the girls winced and began to jog towards it, their heels clacking on the marble floor, voices echoing of the impossibly high, styled ceiling.  
  
"China. ugh. That's a bad omen in itself." Akane decided firmly, as she marched foward.  
  
"Hey!" Shampoo protested.  
  
"No offense! Well, actually..."  
  
"Look!" Ukyo gasped, as the girls began to encroach upon a large, light blue, God ugly figure that was completely desecrating a large, crystal statue of Chinese God. All around it, already broken glass cases lay in pieces, their contents spewed carelessly around the room. as though the monster had been searching through them.the girls bit their lips. It's arms were bulky and muscular, it was far too tall for their liking, and when it turned around, they were horrified to find it had the type of face that cracked mirror without every actually touching it. Ugh.  
  
"This one look stupid. Shampoo take care of quick." The Amazon assured everyone, whipping out her trusty bonbouris from thin air, and zipping forward without another thought.  
  
"Be careful! It looks strong!" Kasumi warned, biting her lip. Not that she knew anything about taking down a demon ANYWAY.  
  
"No worries! The bigger are, the bigger FALL!" the girl cried, leaping into the air, raising her bonbouri above her head in a graceful arc, and then letting it slam down forcefully atop the monster's head with a sickening crack.  
  
"Eeep!" the pretty girl squeaked, when she looked at her hands, and discovered it wasn't the demons head she had cracked, but her own bonbouri. She let the broken splinters fall to the floor. The demon glared at her with its glassy eyes, seemingly unharmed in anyway. Shampoo sucked in a nervous breath and back peddled furiously.  
  
"Maybe we try different approach, no?" she offered generously. Everyone looked slightly paler at this point, as though maybe they were about to get more than they bargained for.  
  
"Um, well, okay. This is good. Good. It tells us that we can't bludgeon it to death.so we shouldn't try that approach anymore." Ukyo said, as the monster began to look as though maybe it wanted to charge the weak looking girls. The cup was always half full!  
  
"But then what CAN we do? Can you honestly think about anything else were better at? I don't think you guys are going to be able to spar with this one, and besides hitting things really hard, you're not good at much else!" Nabiki cried, pulling at her hair fretfully.  
  
"Mercenary girl have point." Shampoo agreed somberly.  
  
"Shoot! It looks like we're going to have to use those new powers Luna and Artemis were talking about- but what ARE they?" Akane wondered, backing away slowly with the others, trying hard not to startle the dumb thing anymore.  
  
"And where those cats go, anyway?" Shampoo asked.  
  
"We lost them when we got into the museum."  
  
"Great."  
  
"Okay guys. So we can't use our powers, we can't use our strength, and we can't talk it to death." Nabiki breathed. "I think our next best option would be. to run."  
  
And, screaming, the girls did just that, tearing down the hall at warp speeds, the Disformunous hot on their trail, looking a whole lot more terrifying than they had imagined in being.  
  
*  
  
"So. how do you think they're doing?" Artemis asked, glancing up at the Museum, twitching his tail sharply.  
  
"Oh. you know, normally. I suppose," Luna said, shrugging, and trying not to look worried out of her mind. The girls might be strong and spunky. but they were so green! A lot like Usagi, when she first started her job as Sailor Moon . and look how many times that girl had almost been killed when Luna wasn't around to watch her! "Artemis! Maybe we better go check on them!" Luna cried suddenly, eyes wide. Yee gads, what had she been thinking!? If it hadn't been for her, Sailor Moon would have been shredded during her first fight! Heck, practically during ALL of her fights! These girls had to be looked over too!  
  
"All right Luna, you go, I've got to go check on something, I have a feeling the fight isn't going on too well in there." Having absolutely no idea what her partner was talking about, Luna nodded quickly and took off. Hopefully none of them had been decapitated yet!  
  
Artemis watched the small black cat run off, frowning. He hadn't told Luna about this. but. it was probably for the best. Sighing, he spun on his paw and took of down the street, heading towards Nermia.  
  
*  
  
"Ahhhh!" Kasumi shrieked as the Disformunous clawed at her heal, almost swiping her legs out from under her. Glancing back at the slowest member of their group, Akane stopped short, clasped onto Kasumi's waist, and flung both of the girls into an abandoned room off to the side, saving Kasumi from loosing everything below her calves. The monster raged on after the three remaining, faster girls, leaving the two sisters behind.  
  
"Oh! Akane! I'm so sorry! I'm slowing you all down! It's just I'm so new at this and I don't think I can-"  
  
"Sh! Kasumi, don't worry! We're all new at this! And we're all doing pretty poorly!" Akane assured Kasumi, feeling a little odd over the fact that SHE was counseling KASUMI. Usually her elder sister was a picture of good composure! Guess this whole super hero thing was a hard transition for a woman who's biggest pride and joy was that new vacuum cleaner she had just purchased.  
  
"Oh, Akane you're right. And I'm worried. Things look bad out there!" she sighed, still sitting on the cold floor, and waiting for her legs to stop quivering. Akane was already standing again, face contorted into a frown.  
  
"Yeah, I know. If only Luna and Artemis hadn't left us!-"  
  
"You called?" Luna asked, completely on cue, leaping gracefully from the nearest window and onto the floor, quickly bouncing over to the two girls.  
  
"Luna, you're back!" Kasumi commented joyfully, eyes lighting up.  
  
"We're in trouble! That THING is strong!" Akane added, sounding slightly panicked.  
  
"I know, I assumed as much." Luna admitted, eyes flashing. "Now, if you'll both just listen, I'll tell you how to release your powers and get rid of that monster!" Both scouts leaned forward eagerly, attentively taking in everything the small feline told them. They needed all the help they could get!  
  
*  
  
"The vase, use the vase!"  
  
"I don't WANT to use the vase! Look how OLD and EXPENSIVE it looks-! It was made in 1250! Look!"  
  
"God dammit woman! It's that or your EYE! Make the right decision!"  
  
"Aiyah! Mercenary girl! Duck!"  
  
"Eek! That could have been my head!"  
  
"This way! A left, a left! If we go down this hall maybe we can loose it in the marble statue garden!"  
  
"It's not THAT dumb!"  
  
"What it doing with glass case? Oh no. aiiyaahh! Hit deck! Hit deck!"  
  
"That's IT! I'm using the vase!"  
  
"Finally!"  
  
Elsewhere, Shampoo, Ukyo and Nabiki were having a long bout of terrible luck with the Disformunous, as it raged along, out of its mind with fury that these puny humans would dare challenge it. Half of the museum was already in ruins, and they were doing nothing to help with that situation. Luckily, just as they turned another corner, skidding along the smooth floor, they met up with Kasumi, Luna and Akane.  
  
"Where have you guys been?! That thing is totally insane!" Ukyo gasped, clutching her chest, her face red with excitement and lack of breath.  
  
"Luna just taught us how to-!"  
  
"Oh no! Here comes! Look out!" Shampoo cried, jumping behind Akane, eyes wide as the demon stormed over to them, drool sliding down its face like a sticky waterfall.  
  
"Ouch!" shouted Nabiki, leaping to the side with Kasumi, to avoid being slammed across the room by one powerful punch. The demons blind swing slammed into a wall, and everyone was sprayed with bits of rock. Snarling and turning on his now fallen victims, the yoma lurched forward, arms raised menacingly. The two Tendo sisters cried out their fear, the other scouts helpless to do much.  
  
Just as Shampoo was ready to go tackle the monster before it could kill anyone, Akane stepped forward, her tiara in hand.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll handle it," she stated, wishing she sounded more confident.  
  
"Wha-?" Shampoo asked, quizzically watching as Akane stepped forward, and aimed her tiara at the yoma as one would a Frisbee. The girl had her eyes closed in concentration, and Luna was watching Akane, and her aura, carefully. 'She's doing it perfectly! Just like I told her! She must be drawing her energy off of fear and concern for her sisters!'  
  
"Moon, tiaarraaaa. action!" Akane screamed, letting her ruby studded tiara fly, watching, fascinated, as it created a luminous glow, and took the form of a ki blast, instead of a flying piece of gold.  
  
It impacted with the demon almost perfectly. a little off center, perhaps, but hey, at this point, not many people were being picky. It screamed in horror, mouth open as wide as it would go, before exploding, seemingly, from the inside out, the blast tinted pink and filled with sparkles. Kasumi and Nabiki, still on the floor, looking up, terrified, at the scene before them, watched the sparkles fall to the ground with a critical eye. Ummm.  
  
Too stunned to speak, Akane didn't notice the tiara come flying back at her, until it hit her square in the head, and she toppled over, landing flat on her butt.  
  
"Did I just do that!?" she asked, disbelieving, clasping the tiara in her hand as though it were a preciouse item. And it was! Who would have guessed she could do THAT!? Ranma said she had been having trouble with that new set of KATAS she had been learning! Well HA, she had most definitely just showed HIM! Staring at the blue haired school girl thoughtfully, Ukyo and Shampoo took off their own tiaras, inspecting them with a new degree of awe.  
  
"Yes! I told you, you could be powerfull!" Luna said, proudly. "All of you girls have the potential to do what Sailor Moon just did! You simply must unlock your inner powers!"  
  
"I don't think there's anyway I could ever do that," Nabiki said emotionlessly, dusting off her short skirt, and then coming to stand by the other scouts, trying very hard not to look disgruntled. Kasumi followed at a more humble level, still a little taken a back.  
  
"But you CAN! That's the beauty of being a Sailor Scout! All of your powers are derived from your inner strengths. The more beautiful a heart you have, the strong you become," Luna informed them all, a large smile on her face. Everyone raised an eyebrow. Sounded pretttyyy cheesy, if you asked them.  
  
"Hey! I see some people in the ancient statues section! This way!" a male voice sounded from down the hall, accompanied by a flash light and the sound of cuffs clinking at their waist.  
  
"It's the cops! What should we do?" Ukyo asked, worried, as she surveyed the damage around them. How would they explain all of this now that the demon was dust? Paying for all of the ruined artifacts would be IMPOSSIBLE.  
  
"Well, while I highly doubt that the police are going to arrest the Sailor Scouts," Luna said, sighing. "I do think we should try hard to not let ourselves be seen. Kasumi, do your stuff."  
  
"Oh! But..."  
  
"Remember what I told you!"  
  
"Umm." The girl didn't look encouraged, in fact, as the police got closer and closer, she started to look down right scared. " I don't think I can do this." she admitted, wringing her hands.  
  
"Kasumi! Don't have so little faith in yourself!"  
  
"Hey! There they are!" One cop called out. Eyes wide, Kasumi quickly thrust her hands out in front of her as one police officer made his way towards the girls, a purpose in his step.  
  
"MERCURY BUBBLES!" A large, icy looking bubble formed in Kasumi's hands, and the air around her took on a cold chill. "BLLASSTT!" she screamed, letting a whole barrage of bubbles zip out of her hands, and fill the air with a frost-laden fog. When she was done with her attack, no one could within a few inches in front of them, and all were shaking from the cold.  
  
"I-I can hardly move!" Akane gasped, clutching her arms. What had onne-chan just done?!  
  
"All right Luna, I see your point about the powers," Nabiki admitted, teeth chattering. "But now we're sorta, uh, stuck here! How are we going to find our way out?"  
  
"Take my hands, you guys," Kasumi said, calmly, grabbing Nabiki and Ukyo's hands. " I can see fine with my goggles, I'll get us out," she said, now sporting a pair of blue tinted goggles, that seemed to be typing messages to the ice scout across the lenses. Looked complicated. Kasumi seemed to be enjoying it.  
  
Tediously, the girls inched their way around the rubble, following Kasumi's gentle instructions, finally making their way to the back exit. Once outside, everyone smiled and reveled in the glorious warmth of the sun, infinitely relieved THAT was over, and they had WON! No one was exactly sure HOW they had done it, but they had definitely beaten that demon's ASS!  
  
"Where did you get those goggles, anyway?" Ukyo asked Kasumi, as the girl pressed her blue stud earring, letting the goggles zip back into them. Woooww.  
  
"I don't really know! They were just sort of. there!" Kasumi admitted, giggling cutely.  
  
"Righ..."  
  
"Hey, where Artemis?" Shampoo asked, looking around for the white cat in question.  
  
"Well, he said he had something to do quickly, but it would seem as though he ditched us!" Luna admitted, sounding a bit stunned  
  
"Well, if you see him, tell him thanks for ALL the help," Nabiki commented sarcastically. Luna frowned, but nodded, a little curious as to her PARTNERS where-abouts, her self. Ukyo stretched, worn out.  
  
"I think we should all be heading back. I have a store to take care of, and I think Shampoo does too." The young woman pointed out. "Not to mention we have school tomorrow."  
  
"Aiyah! Grandma KILL Shampoo for leaving while on duty!" the girl squealed, clapping her hands to her face. Gasping she took off at a run to the Neko Hatten. "Must go, see all later! Thanks for help, Luna!" she called, waving exuberantly. "Be seeing you soon!" she seemed to have accepted her role as a Scout, at least.  
  
"Got a lot of energy, does she?" Luna asked mildly.  
  
"You don't know the half of it," Akane groaned, feeling wasted herself, and thinking of the mountains of homework she had, awaiting her back at the house. If only she had Shampoo's boundless amount of 'oomph.'  
  
"Well, I better go see if anyone still wants dinner," Kasumi admitted, not commenting on anything as she simply detransformed without much light works, back into her street clothes in the blink of an eye. Nothing would ever faze her again, after THAT. Everyone else quickly followed suit, silently hoping that Shampoo had done the same before too many questions were asked. They didn't want their secret out just yet... People would laugh!  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you all tomorrow! Gotta go!" Ukyo said, trotting off towards the Uchan, thinking of the poor cross dressing ninja she had left to hold down the fort all evening.  
  
"I'll be keeping in touch with all of you!" Luna reminded the departing girls, watching the three Tendo sisters slowly travel home. "You have a lot of work ahead of you!"  
  
"Joy!"  
  
*  
  
Artemis hadn't told Luna about his plans for Ranma, mainly because he didn't think she would approve of bringing anyone but her carefully selected girls into this whole thing. She had been very up tight about going ahead with the plan in the FIRST place, but bringing a MALE into the equation was just something she was not going to put up with, and Art knew it. However, Artemis had seen how the heir to the Anything-Goes thrown fought, and new he could be a valuable asset, especially just now when he was sure the girls were getting a terrific pounding, if approached correctly. Bit of a hard feat to pull off when you were a talking cat.  
  
Artemis spotted the sixteen year old scuffing his feet on the pavement as he traveled, hands stuck into the pockets of his black, draw string pants, and looking distinctly worried about something. Under his breath, Artemis had been sure he heard the comment: 'Stupid, helpless tomboy. always getting in trouble.'  
  
Carefully trotting forward, Artemis planted himself in the boys path, wanting to get this over with. First confrontations were always the worst part. It was easier to get it done fast. Artemis watched the boys expression carefully as he saw the white cat in his path, and stopped short.  
  
The first emotion to flicker through the handsome boys storm blue eyes, was confusion. What was in his path? Then anger. WHY was it in his way!? Then. something totally unexpected seeing as how Artimas hadn't SAID anything yet. fear. Total, all consuming, bone chilling fear! Ranma froze up, stood ramrod straight, his mouth forming a perfect 'o'. Wait! This wasn't supposed to happen until Artemis actually spoke!  
  
"Um-hello there, I'm," Artemis tried, a little baffled.  
  
"A CAT!!!" Ranma yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing accusingly at Artemis.  
  
"Er-yes, I." Not waiting to have his worst fears confirmed twice, Ranma took off at a run in the opposite direction, hyperventilating and shaking from head to foot. Squeezing his eyes tight he tried to suppress the demon within him that was the neko-ken, as he rushed towards the only place he could think of to go to when things got bad- the Tendo dojo, his legs pumping as fast as he could make them, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.  
  
"AAHHHHH!" Were his parting words. Artemis stared after the terrified high school boy with a baffled expression. What had just happened there?  
  
"Maybe it was the wrong kid?" he wondered to himself, as he turned around had headed back towards the museum, hoping he hadn't missed all the action on THAT wasted effort.  
  
*  
  
Standing casually on the roof of the Museum, Ristuko twirled a lock of blond hair around one slender finger, with nails that were painted, appropriately, blood red. She cocked her head at the girls as they all went their separate ways, listening to the cops gather their wits after Kasumi's attack, beneath her.  
  
"Interesting choice, kitties. Very interesting. I had not seen this being an option but. I suppose whatever floats your boat." A wicked smile flashed over her features. The Disformunous had been a SMALL sacrifice to obtain THIS information. And that's all he had ever been. A sacrifice for knowledge. "Not that they're going to save you and your silly peace. You blew it the day you let the Scouts leave. it's all over now. I wont let you live." Giggling softly, she disappeared in a haze of sickly looking red smoke, overly pleased with the latest turn of events. If those naïve girls kept this up, soon she could suck all of Japan dry!! It would be just like the old days.  
  
(To be continued) *  
  
Notes:  
  
I can't believe I just finished this chapter! Whoo hoo! Go me! I'm so good! Of course, this means that my Cowboy Beebop fic is going to be on hold for a bit. but whatever! Hope you liked this chapter; look out for the next one, 'Little Surprises Everywhere!' and PLEASE REVIEW!! Thanks,  
  
~Rio (papaya41@aol.com) 


	4. Little Surprises Everywhere!

Hey all, and welcome to CHAPTER THREE!! Anyway, as I was reading through my last chapter, I quickly realized that it, indeed, had little to no content that was in any way serious or dramatic. Now, I don't think it's a major problem at this point, but the story WILL get more of a plot, get more romantic/dramatic/serious or whatever. however, for the most part, it's gonna be a comedy. I sincerely hope you're all cool with that. (Don't forget to review if you're not! Don't forget to review if you have ANY opinions whatsoever!)  
  
And here's where I take the time to thank the reviewers, because I love you all so much! (Sorry If I don't get you all, I'm only referring to the people who reviewed up to chapter two-but that doesn't mean I don't love all you other people who only reviewed the other chapters too! I'm just sort of in a rush.  
  
Ahem.  
  
Steffan- Wow, you smart, smart person, you guessed it! You got all of the scouts correct! COULD these girls be more powerful than the NWC? Only time will tell!  
  
Shane- Thanks for your reviews, they're always so nice, and I'll try really hard to keep Kasumi and Nabiki true to their original characters! Oh, and don't worry about Neko-ken. he'll come around! I'll be sure to look into 'Sailor Hellblazer', as well.  
  
Demecowen- Well, actually, I had originally considered adding the Outer Scouts counter parts to this story, I had even given them all Ranma ½ characters!- but I don't think It's going to work. Luna and Artemis don't really have much to do with the outers in the first place, and it would be hard since Pluto's replacement would have to guard the time gate, and Saturn would have too many responsibilities. not to mention all of their talismans. Okay, okay, I know I could technically pull it off if I put my mind to it! But I'm not going to. Sorry!  
  
Saturn Angel- Referring to both reviews. THANK YOU! You're so kind! You always give me really helpful advice! I'm sorry if I sounded snappy about the tux. I feel like a jerk! But I really appreciate your comments, and I'm so sorry about the Artemis thing again. (How lame can I get?) I definitely agree with your R/A philosophy, too. ((hint hint)) and I hope you enjoy all of the other chapters to come.  
  
Shinji Ikari- Errr. well, first off, you misread the note about Ranma, (he will have a big part) and I encourage you to be kinder with your reviews for future authors! It's just polite.  
  
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE: Ranma will definitely be getting a piece of the action, just let the girls get accustomed to be scouts first. wait for it people, it'll happen.  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ OR Sailor Moon.  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande Chapter Three: Little Surprises Everywhere  
  
"So, she stole the Glowing Stone Necklace Of China, in the end, didn't she?" Luna sighed, resting her head against the computer screen, of which rested in the scout's secret base, beneath Andy's arcade. Artemis gave her a regretful look, this was hard on all of them.  
  
"Yes," he admitted. "But. there was nothing we could have done to stop it. She must have snatched it while the girls were trying to kill that monster."  
  
"Meaning, that Disformunous was just a decoy the whole time. something to distract the girls with." Luna stated.  
  
"It would look that way,"  
  
"Dammit Artemis! She's taking us for a couple of fools! And the girls are especially in danger now that she knows they're so new, no inexperienced.we are in trouble." Luna cursed, pulling her head up and during to stare furiously at the white cat, of whom she was still a little peeved at for having ducked out of the fight when he was needed most for reasons unknown to her. She had questioned him about it afterward, but all she had managed to get out of the troublesome guardian was : 'It was a mistake.' Humph.  
  
"I know we're in trouble Luna, but that means we're just going to have to press the girls harder, make their powers evolve faster! You know they can do it, we both do! They're hearts are too strong to be underestimated." Luna turned to stare out into space now, her caramel brown eyes glazed over.  
  
"They're sort of like the scouts when THEY first started out. aren't they?" Luna mentioned, voice wistful.  
  
"Aww. Luna don't sound like that! They'll come back, you KNOW they'll come back! We've seen the future and they're sort of in it, which means that in some point in time, the scouts will be back here with us!" Artemis said, confidently. Luna nodded soberly, a small smile on her face.  
  
"You're right, of course you're right. It's just. I miss them. Things would be so much easier if they were all around. And we haven't even gotten any word from Setsuna. makes me wonder if things are going so great over there.I wonder if they're all in good health." Artemis stared at his partner levelly for a second.  
  
"We have to tell them," he finally decided. "We can't just let them go on thinking this jobs going to be over quick. We have to let the Nermia girls in on all the details. It's only fair." Luna winced, but nodded once more, compliant.  
  
"Yes. We should. It's just. they're going to be so OUTRAGED. You saw how they acted before. It's not going to go over well. Especially when we tell them that they have a real enemy now." Luna pointed out, leaping down from her perch on the chair, and sitting close to Artemis, resting her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Trust me, I know this isn't going to be fun. But, they deserve it! They're in for a wild ride, to say the least," Artemis groaned, glancing up at the digital map Luna had opened up on the computer. It was a map of Tokyo, and strategically scattered around it were little red dots. points where ancient, magical artifacts were held, and where they were guessing Ritsuko would strike next to obtain her goal. This was not going to be easy.  
  
*  
  
"Where WERE you last night?" Ranma repeated, arms folded in what he hoped was a menacing fashion. Akane rolled her eyes and turned back to her lunch. She had been effectively dodging Ranma's question all morning, but the boy was pretty persistent. She didn't now whether to be flattered by his concern, or pissed off that he was ruining her cover by being so nosy.  
  
"It's not a big deal," she said, waving her chopsticks around in a 'bug off' manner. Ranma frowned.  
  
"Well, yeah, it is. You three just disappeared and I couldn't find you anywhere! I thought you had been kidnapped again or something!"  
  
"That's ridiculous!"  
  
"Wouldn't be the first time it happened." He pointed out flatly. Akane sighed because he was right. But, if she was going to be a full time Scout, this would be happening a lot, and she would have to deal with it. Time to start lying her ass off.  
  
"Look, if you really want to know. we were having a girls night out," she said, folding her arms and holding her head up.  
  
"Well why didn't you just say so? And where?" Ranma asked frowning. He wasn't so much terribly angry as he was confused about all this. WHY hadn't she just admitted that in the first place. Ranma wasn't dumb, contrary to popular belief, and could distinctly tell that something was amiss here.  
  
"Why do you care? I mean, we just did girly stuff." Akane huffed, wishing very much now that he would stop prying. She wasn't a good liar and she knew it, a girls night out was the best she could come up with and she'd be damned if her imagination for lying stretched any farther than that.  
  
"Yeah, but I looked everywhere for you, and you weren't in any of the usual 'girly' places! Akane , you're keeping something from me." He said, coldly. Akane bristled, face red.  
  
"Well. well what do you care?" she demanded sharply.  
  
"I care a lot!" he hissed.  
  
"You do?" she asked, her voice suddenly breathless, and innocent.  
  
"Well. yeah! I would have gotten in major trouble if you guys hadn't gotten home when you did," he said simply.  
  
"Oh." Akane sighed. That really wasn't the answer she had been looking for. ".Listen, I have some work to do, I'll see you later." She began to gather up her lunch things, intent on getting some homework done before she math class started.  
  
"Hey! Hey, you didn't tell me where you were!" Ranma called after her, slightly cross over the fact that he was being ditched. Akane waved over her shoulder at him without turning around, dismissing his question. Ranma let out a frustrated growl, before digging into his own lunch with a vengeance. He HATED when she did stuff like that! WHY did she have to keep things from him?  
  
"Hey, Ran-chan!" a familiar voice called out. Ranma looked up to see Ukyo come trotting towards him, a portable grill tucked firmly under her arm. Ranma smiled, hopefully good ol' U-chan would cheer him up. He really didn't understand why Akane was so good at hitting all the right nerves, or why he constantly worried so much about her, why he cared. shaking his head, and pushing all troublesome thoughts aside, Ranma gave off a broad smile for his friend.  
  
"Hey U-chan, what's up." Ukyo, wearing her customary boys uniform and large spatula strapped to her back, kneeled down quickly next to her fiancée, and quickly got to work on whipping up some delicious okanamiyaki. She knew Ranma would eat everything she gave him. The thought made her smile.  
  
"Oh, you know, nothing much. Just the usual," she said, as casually as she could. Happy as she was to see Ranma, she also had a number of other things on her mind. Mainly scout stuff. All night long she had stayed up thinking about it. Was she really a Sailor Scout? Had anything really happened? It seemed a little too surreal, but, that morning, when she had made eye contact with Nabiki, and found that she shared a deep secret with the senior now, it hit her that yes, this was real, and yes, it was just going to have to be another odd thing to add to the already impressive list of oddities in her life. Ukyo was actually sort of exited that she now had a special bond with all of the four girls, but, at the same time, she wished she didn't have yet another responsibility that would hinder her work at the U-chan. Oh well. That's just life, she supposed.  
  
"Hey, did you, by any chance, see Akane yesterday, after school? Maybe Nabiki and Kasumi too?" Ranma asked, leaning his back against the large old tree he was sitting under. It was where he and Akane usually ate lunch together, it's shade comforting on the warmer days. Ukyo froze up at his comment. She didn't want to lie to Ran-chan. not Ran-chan! On the other hand, she wasn't being given many other options.  
  
"No," she said, avoiding his gaze, and pretending to be fully wrapped up with her cooking food. "Why?"  
  
"Well, it's just, they were all missing last night! And of course Pops made me go look for them, but, I couldn't find any sign of them, all night! By the time I got home, they were already there, had been for the past ten minutes apparently. It was really odd. And then, to top that all off, when I asked Akane about it, she wouldn't tell me where she had been! What does she have to hide?" Ranma smiled wryly and shook his head. "Man, it sounds stupid talking about it, like I'm worrying a lot over nothing." He let out a short bark of laughter. "Yeah, what am I fussing about, that tomboy can take care of herself! I'm definitely not worried about Nabiki getting into trouble, and who would hurt Kasumi around here?"  
  
"All good points," Ukyo said, agreeing with him completely, and REALLY wanting him to change the subject. It hadn't occurred to her that it would be hard to hide the scout's identity from Ranma. but then again, he DID live with three of them, and this could get messy. "I'm sure they were all FINE last night, you're right, nothing to worry about!" she enthused.  
  
"Yeah! Right. Heh, sorry to bore you U-chan. Just be being paranoid. Anyway, that okanamiyaki ready yet?"  
  
"Eeek! Oh my God, I think I just burnt it," Ukyo gasped, flipping over her okanamiyaki quickly, and cursing herself mentally for getting so distracted. She NEVER burnt her food!  
  
"Hey, it's okay U-chan. I already ate, but you haven't. You want some of my sushi? Kasumi made them,"  
  
"Ohh. that's so sweet Ran-chan! But don't worry, I think I can whip up some more quick enough." Ukyo said as she began to do just that, face flushed with happiness. Ranma was so cute! And one day, they could be-  
  
"Hey, Ukyo, I think I just saw Ryoga!" Ranma said, abruptly standing up.  
  
"Huh?" Ukyo asked, standing with him. "Oh my God, you're right! Is that him over there by the gates?"  
  
"I'm almost positive," Ranma said, marching forward. "Let's catch him before he gets lost again!"  
  
"Right," Ukyo agreed, chasing after the pigtailed martial artist. Ryoga was a good friend. The two were originally connected purely through Ranma, however, various adventures and misadventures had bonded them together to the point of a comfortable friendship.  
  
"Hey, Ryoga! Pig-head! What's up?" Ranma called, trotting over to the muscular martial artist. Ryoga's head abruptly snapped to the side, as he spotted the bane of his life sashay up to him with a large smile plastered to his annoying face.  
  
"Ranma!" he growled, eyes aflame. "What in the seven hells are you doing in Cambodia!?"  
  
".Um, sugar, this is Nermia." Ukyo pointed out, after an awkward silence had effectively silenced Ranma's big mouth.  
  
"What? Really?" Ryoga said, eyes wide. "Than that means. Akane's here! I've finally found my way back to her!" Ryoga literally looked as though he were about to bubble over with joy.  
  
"Hey! Now waita minute there, lover boy-" a peeved Ranma started, stepping towards the lost boy, and preparing to knock some sense into that thick skull of-  
  
"Yes! Yes Akane is definitely here!" Ukyo agreed, a wonderful plan forming in her head. "In fact, why don't I take you to her?"  
  
"You'd do that?" Ryoga asked, pleased.  
  
"Sure, sugar. Here, just take my hand, for safeties sake." Ukyo said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and leading Ryoga towards the school. She had seen Akane enter it before going over to eat with Ran-chan, so.  
  
"Hey, stop! Ukyo!" Ranma called, chasing after the determined duo, worried. No way was he going to let Ryoga near Akane!  
  
*  
  
Akane heaved a large sigh as she attempted to finish the rather long algebraic equation she was working on. The huge downside of missing a lot of math class, was that you didn't learn the methods on how to solve the problems with everyone else, and if you couldn't solve the problems, you couldn't do all the homework, and if you didn't solve all the homework, you didn't pass the class, and if you didn't pass the class, it went on your permanent record, and if it went on your permanent record, you didn't get into college, and if you didn't get into college, the only solution was to perform ritual seppuku!! Obviously. Well, that's how her mind worked, at least.  
  
'No wonder Ranma thinks I'm crazy. I'm driving myself insane!' Akane cried mentally, pulling at a lock of hair as she worked.  
  
"Knock knock," Nabiki sang, wrapping on the door of the abandoned classroom Akane was working in.  
  
"Hey onee-chan," Akane replied, putting her pencil down, and looking up at her sister. Good! This couldn't be considered procrastinating because SHE didn't initiate it! Yes!  
  
"Sooo. how are things going?" Nabiki asked casually, sitting on Akane's desk, and flipping through the blue haired girls advanced algebra textbook.  
  
"I assume your not referring to my health or social life," Akane guessed, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You could assume that," Nabiki admitted.  
  
"Ughh. I don't know what to think, Nabiki. I mean, I don't NEED this, you know? This whole scout thing. It's a big responsibility! On the other hand, I don't think it's one of those things you get to decide whether or not you NEED. it's a duty you have to shoulder, and do your best at, no matter what." Akane said, sounding rather insightful, if she did say so herself.  
  
"Maybe. I was sort of thinking it was just a hassle. I'm still sort of in shock, personally, but. I think I can deal with it," Nabiki said, firmly, puffing her chest out. After a second, she mellowed out. "Well. probably. I don't know. It's pretty scary, actually."  
  
"Nabiki?" Akane asked, shocked. Did her sister, the Ice Queen of Japan, the Mercenary Girl, the Heartless Business Woman, the Eater of Live Children (actually, Akane had just made that one up) really just admit that she was FRIGHTENED of something. Uh oh. this was bad.  
  
"Well, I mean, I have a right to be!- right? You guys. with the exception of Kasumi, are all martial artists, who've done stuff like this before! This is like cake for you. Me, I've never fought a demon. Just that one yesterday had me pretty upset. I don't know what to do if it gets worse." Akane felt an extreme wave of compassion rush through her, and she took her sister's hand in hers.  
  
"Nabiki, we were all scared! And you don't have to worry about your fighting skills- you heard what Luna said, it's all about the strength of your heart!" the girl encouraged.  
  
"And you think I'd be better off with heart power becaaauusee..?" Resisting the urge to smirk, and sort of agree with that notion, Akane continued.  
  
"Luna wouldn't have chosen you for this job if she didn't think you were capable of being a competent scout. I'm sure of it." A flash of something that might have been considered thanks passed over Nabiki's features.  
  
"Oh jeez Akane, don't get all mushy on me!" she said, pushing the younger girl away, and standing up. "In any case, I think that we should all meet up, all us scouts, and talk things over, you know? Get an idea of what we're doing."  
  
"All right, but-" Akane was interrupted, as an overly pleased Ukyo, and love struck Ryoga, and a furious Ranma slammed into the room. Naturally. Of course. Nothing out of the norm there. "Ryoga!" Akane gasped, abruptly standing.  
  
"When did you get back?" Nabiki asked. "I thought you were in Kenya."  
  
"No, no, Iran." Akane corrected.  
  
"Ohhh." Nabiki said, nodding her head in understanding.  
  
"I-uh. just got back," Ryoga said, twiddling his thumbs and avoiding Akane's gaze. She was even more beautiful than he remembered!  
  
"Well, why don't we all just . leave Akane and Ryoga alone!" Ukyo said, clapping her hands together happily.  
  
"Why?" Ranma and Akane chorused, Ranma's eye twitching, Akane cocking her head curiously.  
  
"Well, you know, I'm sure . Ryoga has something to give her! In private! Souvenir! From Bangladesh!" Ukyo said, fumbling around for a good excuse to leave the two lovebirds together.  
  
"Iran." Nabiki corrected, not batting a lash. Could Ukyo be more transparent if she tried? Probably. But not by much.  
  
"I do?" Ryoga asked, dumbly. Ukyo elbowed Ryoga in the ribs. He didn't catch on. "Ouch! What gives!?" he cried. She hit hard!  
  
"Ughh. never mind." Ukyo groaned. Just as the young chef was about to go bang her head against a wall, Akane gasped loudly.  
  
"Akane?" Ranma asked, noticing the girl's eyes wide, and her form visibly shake.  
  
"I'm vibrating." She stated.  
  
"What?" Everyone asked.  
  
"It's. it's. my cell phone." she said, trailing off as she took a shiny new cell phone out of her skirt pocket. She had a cell phone? This was news to her!  
  
"Heyyy. when did you get that?" Nabiki cried, looking over Akane's shoulder as the teen tried to figure out how to answer her call. "I've been asking Daddy to get me one of those for months! When did you get one?"  
  
"Err. recently?" Akane offered, helplessly shrugging her shoulders. So a cell phone had just magically formed in her pocket, and the person on the other line was most likely a new villain or mentally deranged person ready to battle with her friends. Whatever. Looking at it from a different perspective, she had just gotten a free phone! "Hello?" she asked pleasantly. Everyone watched her receive her call with raised eyebrows. Cell phones? What were these cell phones? They didn't fit in with Nermia's carefully pre-made atmosphere! Why did Akane have one?  
  
"Yes? Oh! Hi. Uh hu.. Uh hu. really? Wow. That's bad. That's really bad. Okay. Well. fine. All right. I'll see you soon," Akane swiftly ended the call and placed the phone carefully back in the pocket of her blue skirt, sighing.  
  
"Well?" Nabiki asked, as Akane turned back to her desk, and began to clean things up, stuffing everything into her bag with deft fingers, her mind obviously elsewhere.  
  
"We have to go. Ukyo and Nabiki, I mean," she stated, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and grabbing the two confused girl's hand's on her way out of the room.  
  
"I'll see you guys later, stay for dinner Ryoga, why don't you?" Akane called over her shoulder. And then she turned a corner, and was gone, Ukyo and Nabiki not making any comment as they were dragged along.  
  
"Um. okay." Ryoga said, seeing no reason NOT to stay for dinner!  
  
"Do you think they're coming back to school today?" Ranma asked, generally curious.  
  
"No, I'd assume not," Ryoga admitted, folding his arms, large pack still firmly strapped to his back. The two stood in silence for a few more moments. Ranma distantly heard the bell ring, signaling the end of lunch. He didn't really want to go back to class, come to think of it.  
  
"Sooo. wanna fight?" Ranma asked, turning to Ryoga with a roguish grin on his features. Ryoga only had to think about THAT one for a few seconds.  
  
"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE! " the teen bellowed, swinging his 100 lb pink umbrella over his head, as he charged his arch nemesis like an elephant on speed, a deep hatred for the injustice of it all engraved deeply into his tormented soul!  
  
"Now we're talking!" Ranma cried merrily, hopping out the window, Ryoga following after him quickly.  
  
*  
  
"Why are we running again?" Nabiki asked, her breath coming out in shallow pants. She was really out of shape when she wasn't Sailor Mars.  
  
"Because, I just got a call from Luna! A demon is attacking the bank, and the police can't seem to stop it with bullets!" Akane explained, not even breaking a sweat, thanks to a healthy and consistent habit of jogging every morning for the past three years.  
  
"Sounds like a job for the Sailor Scouts!" Ukyo cheered.  
  
"Yay." Nabiki deadpanned, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Luna said she can't get a hold of Shampoo, and that Kasumi is at Dr. Tofu's helping with a patient who was recently in a car accident, and couldn't possibly be bothered. she thinks we can handle it without them, anyway." Akane said, not sounding too positive about that one. Besides herself, Kasumi was the only other one with access to her scout powers!  
  
"Do we know what kind of a demon this is?" Nabiki asked, as the girls weaved their way around the crowds of people who stood a little distance from the bank, watching the action with interest.  
  
"Don't these people have the sense to run?" Ukyo cursed, eyeing the flashing lights of the cop cars close up ahead. These people could be hurt by the demon, and here they were, crowding around the crime scene!  
  
"Not really, Luna just said it was a second class demon." Akane commented.  
  
"But. that means it's better than the last one!" Nabiki pointed out, sounding a little nervous again.  
  
"Girls, over here!" a voice sounded inside the girl's heads, coming from everywhere, and nowhere at all at the same time.  
  
"Where are you, Artemis?" Ukyo asked, whipping her head around as she tried to locate the small cat with the crescent moon on his forehead. Since when was he telepathic?  
  
"Over by the bus stop, to your left. Hurry! We have to stop this thing!" The girls nodded, and quickly trotted over to the vacant bus stop, where, sure enough, they found Luna and Artemis, waiting underneath the awning.  
  
"Glad you got here so quick girls, but we have to hurry. that cat demon is causing quite a ruckus!" Luna said, brows furrowed, her head cocking to the direction of the bank. which was now partially engulfed in a storm of raging flames.  
  
"Cat demon?" Akane asked, biting her lip. Not a good sign.  
  
"Yes, now, transform before it kills one of the police officers!" Artemis encouraged. The girls all nodded, stepped back and. paused. Waiitt a minute.  
  
"How do we transform again?" Ukyo wanted to know, smiling diffidently.  
  
"Urgh!" Artemis growled, slapping his head with his paw. "We forgot! Raise your hands to the air, and shout, your planet, power. make up!" he encouraged. The girls all stared at him suspiciously for a moment, before deciding that as long as no one else was looking.  
  
"YOUR PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!" They all cried dramatically, arms raised towards the heavens, voices strong and clear. They waited a beat, and when nothing special or in any way magical happened, they quickly wrenched their hands back down, blushing furiously.  
  
"Heyy! You set us up for that one, didn't you? Trying to make us look dumb! Well, har har, but I THOUGT we had a bank to save," Akane huffed, folding her arms self consciously, as Nabiki resisted the urge to strangle the two felines.  
  
"Ohhh my God." Luna groaned. "It's not 'YOUR PLANET POWER, make up,' it's, for example, 'Jupiter Power, Make Up!" She shook her head, disbelieving that this was what Tokyo's proud crime fighting team had been degraded to.  
  
"Ohhhh." the girls all chorused, intelligently.  
  
"Right, we knew that. We were just testing you." Ukyo said, sheepishly.  
  
"Hurry!" Artemis hissed.  
  
"MOON/MARS/JUPITER POWER! MAKE UP!" The girls cried hastily, snapping into action. This time, they felt it. Akane closed her eyes as a deep power within her heart released a surge of energy, and Nabiki shuddered as a rings of fire came flying at her from all directions. Ukyo curled up and let the lighting surround her. Within seconds, they were fully transformed, and feeling more powerful than ever.  
  
"This really DOES rock," Ukyo admitted, as Akane and Nabiki agreed with her quietly.  
  
"GO!!" Both of the cats ordered, having had it just about up to HERE. The girls spun on their heals, and dashed bravely forward, flinging themselves in harms way as they sped into the exploding bank.  
  
"Oh my God! It's the Sailor Scouts!"  
  
"I didn't even think they were real!"  
  
"They're so cool!"  
  
"Go kick that demon's ass!"  
  
"Quick, get your camera Bob! The folks back in America will LOVE this!"  
  
"You know, I could really get used to that," Nabiki divulged, smiling as the girls trotted through the bank, now 'safely' inside, and keeping their eyes peeled for evil looking cat demons.  
  
"Oh yeah," Ukyo decided.  
  
"You guys, over there!" Akane squeaked, pointing to a vault. Well, it used to be a vault. Now it was a rather impressive hole in the wall, with a large metal door tossed carelessly to the side, scratch marks dragged along its form. The girls winced, but started forward anyway.  
  
Once by the fissure in the wall, the trio stood with their backs to the wall, on either side of the opening. Akane mouthed the words 'One. two. THREE!' And on three they all jumped into the vault, arms raised in various threatening positions, Nabiki's looking suspiciously like a gut reaction defensive motion.  
  
"Don't move, or we'll DUST you!" Akane declared confidently. A furry form towards the back of the vault, who had been previously clawing through safety deposit boxes, now turned to look at the girls, its yellow, catty eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. All of the scouts gulped and took an involuntary step backwards. Uh oh. this one looked like it had BRAINS. Its form was sleek and black, larger than your average panther, and with large teeth that made it resemble a rabid saber-tooth more than anything. It seemed to be thinking about what to do with them. A deep growl emanated from its chest.  
  
"Good kitty..?" Nabiki offered.  
  
"ROOOWWWW!" the demon finally cried, rearing forward, and leaping at the girls. Ukyo and Nabiki both cried and dived to the side, however Akane stood her ground, tiara in hand. She leaned backwards and prepared to hurl it at the monster.  
  
"MOON, TIARRAAA-" she started, her voice powerful and feminine. (NOT an oxy-moron.) "OOF!" she heaved, as the demon cat halted her attack in mid toss. She was shoved backwards and onto her back, the wind being effectively knocked out of her, and her tiara skidding to the side. The cat jumped over her, and landed a little ways away.  
  
"Akane!" Nabki said, hurrying forward to help the fallen scout up, retrieving her tiara on the way.  
  
"Hey! Ugly! Try this!" Ukyo roared, sending a barrage of handy little (razor sharp) spatulas at the demon, in an effort to get it to leave Akane and Nabiki alone. The demon didn't look the least bit affected as the spatulas shot off its skin as though it were made of a protective armor.  
  
"Eeep." Was all Ukyo had to say to THAT. "Ah!!" she cried, falling to the ground, and letting the demon sail over her instead of swiping her head off when it decided to charge the scout of thunder. However, the demon seemed okay with this idea too, because it simply crashed through the window, and on to solid ground outside the bank. Nabiki ran up, and watched it bound away into the city. Damn it.  
  
"We have to follow!" Akane ordered, dashing out of the bank, Nabiki and Ukyo close behind.  
  
"It had something in its mouth! I saw it when it leaped over me!" Ukyo said, arms and legs pumping as all of the girls sprinted down the street, the now small form of the demon a ways ahead of them .  
  
"That's bad! It was probably what it was after in the first place! Something in one of those safety deposit boxes! And now its. going to go use it for its own evil purposes, or give it to its master or something!" Nabiki declared, face placed into a deep frown. They really had to get the super hero thing down, and fast!  
  
"Very astute Sailor Mars," Luna said, catching up with the girls, Artemis with her, as they all chased after the renegade demon.  
  
"Really?" Nabiki questioned, skeptically.  
  
"Yes. This demon definitely has a master, and we have a pretty good idea just WHO that master is, and WHAT they wanted from that bank. And let me tell you, it's bad news if it gets away with that artifact." Artemis said, shaking his head gravely.  
  
"Well then, we'll just have to CATCH it!" Akane roared, speeding up, and running faster than she ever had in her life. Faster than she ever could of just as plain old Akane Tendo.  
  
"You better explain to us how you know all of this information, too, when it's all over," Nabiki warned, not liking that she had no idea what sort of battle she was fighting. Luna sighed.  
  
"Of course," she conceded.  
  
*  
  
"You know, I'm surprised that Nabiki isn't getting a piece of this action," Hiroshi mentioned to his three friends, Daisuke, Yuka, and Sayuri, as they all watched the heated battle with rapt attention.  
  
"Yeah, where is she, anyway? She could be making millions off this fight!" Sayuri agreed, frowning lightly.  
  
The fight had been going on for a solid half hour, and the teachers could no longer keep any of their students attention as they all came outdoors, or stuck their heads out classroom windows to watch the two frighteningly powerful martial artists, otherwise known as Ranma Saotome and Ryoga Hibiki duke it out for one utterly pointless reason or another. On the other hand, it was very entertaining, and apparently Ryoga had learned some new techniques on his journeys. He had already scored some major points on the surprised Ranma, and now the boy was bleeding heavily from the arm, and had sprained a wrist, much to his rage. He might have to go all out on this one.  
  
"Ryagh!" he gasped, slamming himself against Ryoga's arm, and forcing both boys to crash into the schools walls. The entire building's form shook. but the dreaded umbrella DID fall from Ryoga's hand, rolling a few yards away. All of the students wisely avoided it. They already new about THAT umbrella. "Ha!" Ranma cheered, leaping away, and coming to a crouch, watching Ryoga's face carefully. He looked a bit pissed.  
  
"Damn you Ranma! But. I don't need a weapon to destroy you, I can do it with my BARE HANDS!" he declared, rushing forward. Ranma readied himself into a casual fighting position, that infuriating smile that never failed to get his opponents so frustrated they were forced into a blind rage. and was about to get majorly tackled. when a dark something darted into the school yard, howling like something wicked, and scared everyone out of their wits.  
  
"What's THAT!" Yuka cried, clasping her hands to her chest and clinging to Sayuri.  
  
"Not part of the fight, I'm sure," Daisuke said.  
  
The cat demon howled once more, in pain this time, as it tripped over an umbrella it had not expected to be so heavy. It trampled over it's own feet, and went face down on the ground, a small envelope flying out of its mouth, and landing some feet off.  
  
"What's going on!?" Ryoga said, rushing forward, and tossing the demon's head off the umbrella as he checked to make sure his weapon of choice was still intact. "What is this thing?" he demanded, pointing at the saber-tooth looking monster. It growled at him, it's chin sill smarting from the small. It had to get that envelope! But someone was standing in front of it.  
  
The demon's eyes sharp yellow eyes locked onto Ranma's, foam dripping from its mouth, over heated from all the fighting. Ranma didn't move an inch, his face so pale he could have competed with Snow White. Everyone immediately spotted the problem. Sound of "Ohhh nooo.." and "This isn't good." could be heard around the school grounds, as everyone decided on whether or not it would be wiser to leave, or more interesting to stick around and see what happens NOW!  
  
"C-c-c"  
  
It was at this moment that three angry Sailor Scouts and two small cats burst in through the school gates, a purpous in their steps.  
  
"C-c-c"  
  
"Where's the cat demon-! Oh! There it is!" Nabiki said, smiling, and pleased they had located their pray. Her grin was quickly wiped off her face when she saw just what the demon was growling at. "OhmyGod."  
  
"Ran-chan, no!" Ukyo said. HOW could this of happened!? Of all of the half ass, stupid coincidences, WHY did this demon have to stop at Furiken?! It just wasn't FAIR!  
  
"CAT!!!" Ranma howled, collapsing to the floor, and curling up in fetal position, still placed strategically in front of the envelope. The demon hesitated. what was this mortal doing? It could feel powerful every waves wafting from it, yet.  
  
"Ranma." Akane said, trotting over to her fiancée, and kneeling by him, tapping his shoulder hesitantly. She didn't really know what to do, but neko-ken was the last thing they needed right-  
  
"Meow?" Neko-Ranma offered, staring up adoringly into Akane's large brown eyes. Fuck.  
  
And as Ranma quickly got on to all fours, and began rubbing up against Akane's thighs happily, the students of Furiken all smiling knowingly, Artemis just had to ask:  
  
"What's he doing?" Carefully replying so that no one thought she was actually talking to the cat, Nabiki said:  
  
"Erm, Ranma, this guy, we know him, in fact, he lives with me-"  
  
"Wait- THAT'S Ranma Saotome?" Artemis interjected, thinking that, yes, the kid DID look familiar! He was the weirdo he had tried to talk to the other day! The kid who, supposedly, had God like powers!  
  
"Yeah. anyway, he has a chronic fear of cats, so whenever he gets to close to them, or is overwhelmed by them. he converts to this neko-ken form, where he acts like a cat, and can slash things in half without even touching them.it's one of his most powerful attacks. It's only drawback is that he sort of looses his mind while doing it. So far only a few select people have the power to change him back," she explained as best she could. Ukyo bristled. what made AKANE get to be one of these people? And as she stomped purposely forward, towards Ranma, and the Neko-Ranma himself got into a defensive position in front of Sailor Moon, growling menacingly at the large, powerful demon, ready to defend the girl. a few things clicked in Artemis's head.  
  
"Oh SHIT!" he gasped, eyes wide.  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
What did you think? I wrote this pretty late at night, so please forgive any careless mistakes. sorry. so tired. please review. Next chapter, Ranma goes into full Neko-ken battle mode, scouts have to stop the demon from getting back his little envelope, and its some major explaining time for Luna and Artemis. Named: 'NOW you tell us.' Have a nice day!  
  
~Rio (papaya41@aol.com) 


	5. NOW You Tell Us

Hey all, thanks again for the wonderful reviews! They're so touching! And for those of you who DIDN'T review. tsk tsk tsk! I hope you enjoy this chapter ANYWAY, though. Heh, just kidding, no hard feelings. -I don't own Ranma ½ or Sailor Moon, thank you very much!  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Chapter Four: NOW You Tell Us.  
  
  
  
From Nabiki's point of view, or rather, Sailor Mars', the whole situation just didn't look too good.  
  
In front of Akane, kneeling protectively, Neko-Ranma looked as though he was ready to strangle the demon to death with his own intestines, his fingers curled up like claws, a dangerous sound reverberating from his throat. Akane looked torn between trying to stop Ranma, or to dust the monster herself. There didn't seem to be any handy bucket of water around (wouldn't you know it?) that would help in changing Ranma back to normal, however, and he didn't look as though he was eager to be subdued by her, this time around. Never a good sign, generally. Akane looked ready to try anything, though, and her fingers kept traveling unconsciously up to her tiara when she looked at the demon.  
  
Unnoticed by the Akane, was Ukyo, storming towards Ranma, determined to prove her status of not only cutest, but most MENTALLY DERANGED fiancée, by going ahead and trying to change Ranma back to normal herself, large, menacing demon standing by a few yards away be damned. Nabiki winced, Ranma, most likely, wasn't going to like that one, but she wasn't about to tell Ukyo to stop. She had that sort of insane gleam in Ukyo's eye before, and last time Nabiki had seen her with it, she had hurled a small BOMB at someone.  
  
Also not noticed by Akane or Neko-Ranma, was Luna, quietly trying to dart behind Sailor Moon when the demon was distracted, her main objective the small envelop behind the girl. She HAD to get that envelop, they couldn't afford to let Ritsuko get away with another artifact!-  
  
Artemis was quietly cursing to himself next to Nabiki, and scarring the scout slightly. what was HIS problem? He seemed pretty upset about Ranma's curse though.Nabiki chose to ignore him, and focus her efforts back onto deciding whether or not she should help defeat the big saber tooth demon, or start a pool for who would win the battle with the crowd of students surrounding the fight.  
  
Speaking of students, all of them seemed pretty non-plused at this point over the fact that, yes, there was a big mean demon on their school grounds, and that, yes, now the Sailor Scouts had come to deal with it. In fact, they thought it was sort of cool! They had never had the SAILOR SCOUTS come by before! Some people were cursing their lack of cameras, in fact.  
  
The demon itself, its black coat shining proudly in the sunlight, and reminding Nabiki that the darned thing was bullet proof, seemed unsure of what to do with the new, odd version of Ranma. Though it looked to be leaning towards 'violently attacking'. Hmm.  
  
Ryoga stood off to the sidelines, with the students, his umbrella in hand. He looked a bit confused, to be honest, and didn't quite know what to do with himself. But Nabiki knew he would protect Akane if the need came- waita sec! Nabiki slapped herself on the head and groaned. Nobody recognized them, of course! Luna had told everyone that they would be unrecognizable to their friends and family after they transformed, and this would help with keeping their identities a secret.how could she have forgotten an important detail like this? Nabiki supposed this was all for the best, she didn't need the entire student body finding out she wore a red mini skirt and went around fighting demons. but, then, how did RANMA recognize AKANE?  
  
'Must be his . cat like sense of smell or something.' she decided, shrugging. Well, all the better for them! This meant he would protect them! And while the Sailor Scout team might be currently lacking in dexterity and skills, (among other things) Ranma could kick some major ass!  
  
"Ranma," Akane tried, rubbing her hand on her friends shoulder, in a slow, soothing motion, her voice quiet so the students couldn't hear. She had to approach this one carefully. "Please. calm down. we can take care of this, just calm down!.." Ranma glanced up at his fiancée, his face a picture of adoration, and rubbed his cheek against her hand in a completely innocent motion. Akane felt her heart melt, and her face warm up. Awww. why couldn't he ALWAYS be like this?  
  
However, as soon as Ranma was done with the cuteness and the coddling, he nudged Sailor Moon away in a distinct 'Stay back, this is MY job', manner, forcing Akane onto Luna.  
  
"Ranma, no!-Oh sorry!" the girl apologized to the half crushed cat. Luna jumped onto Akane's lap with a envelope in her mouth. Akane looked at it, and a few things clicked.  
  
"That's the envelope from the safety deposit box! The one that demon took!" she exclaimed, taking it.  
  
"Right, now hold on to that, we CAN'T let the demon get it back! Otherwise Ristuko will-"  
  
"Ristuko, who's Ritsuko?" Akane questioned. However, before Luna could launch herself into a long explanation, the fight between Ranma and the saber tooth demon began .  
  
"Ran -chan!" Ukyo cried, having not reached her fiancée in time, watching in horror, as the two now cat like creatures leaped into the air, 'claws' extended in front of them.  
  
"Rrrooowww!" Was Ranma's comment to that.  
  
Akane watched, morbidly fascinated, and realizing that this was out of her hands, as, just when it looked as though he were about to collide, Ranma soared over the demon, and landed on all fours, safely on the ground. The demon itself growled and landed with his back to the martial artist gone neko-ken. Then he howled in pain, favoring three newly made, long gashes along his side, the bright red blood showing up manifestly with his black fur.  
  
"Whoa! But he didn't even touch him!" Ukyo said, watching Ranma lick a few stray drops of blood from his hand. He looked thoroughly unfazed. It was sort of frightening.  
  
The demon looked at Neko-Ranma with a new sort of respect now, but definitely not the sort of respect one can fully appreciate. Especially not Ranma just then, as the demon decided it was time for a new approach, and opened his mouth wide, letting a large, bright yellow blast explode from the back of his throat. It was about the size of a basketball, and it was speeding straight at Neko-Ranma. Ranma looked confused, but dodged it just in time, his small, cat brain having enough sense to get out of the way. even though a piece of his loose, red Chinese shirt was burned away. Akane and Ukyo gasped.  
  
"Well, we didn't know it could do THAT." Nabiki commented.  
  
"It probably didn't feel threatened enough to try that attack on you guys," Artemis explained blatantly.  
  
"Gee, thanks, cheer me up will you," Nabiki said, rolling her eyes.  
  
Neko-Ranma now looked as though it was definitely time to get down to business, seeing as how there was now the peril of getting his head blown off his shoulders, as he took up a more threatening pose, and began to sprint at the demon. The demon growled and leaped to the side, having learned from past experience that you didn't want to let this one get too close to you, no matter how swift you thought you were. But Ranma was persistent, and followed the demon wherever he went, around the schoolyard, chasing him in a sort of quick, zippy dance. The cat demon began to spit yellow little balls of energy to keep Ranma at bay and as far away from itself possible. The crowd screamed in terror and back peddled fiercely as chi blasts exploded above their heads. unfortunately, one flew in too low.  
  
"Ahh!" Nabiki said, as she spotted one of the blasts came flying at her. If she dodged, the crowd of kids behind her would just get bombed! "What do I do!?" she cried, looking down at Artemis. Artemis sighed. He was ceaselessly surrounded by idiots.  
  
"You're Sailor Mars! Use your fire power!"  
  
"But I don't HAVE gun! Believe me, if I did, I would have used it by now." Nabiki snorted.  
  
"No that sort of fire power!" Artemis said, "Your SCOUT fire power!" However, it seemed as though he was too late, for the energy blast was nearly on top of them now. Artemis howled in fear, dammit!.. luckily, at that moment, Nabiki's eyes seemed to glaze over a bit, and her survival instinct took control.  
  
She felt a new power bloom in her, as it had with Akane and Kasumi just the day before, and she grabbed it for all she was worth. It was this or nothing. Literally nothing. Like, she would be dead.  
  
"MARS! CELESTIAL FIIIREEE. IGNITE!" she screamed, arms stuck straight out in front of her, fingers steapled horizontally. A second later, a large ball of flame, spurting sparks and power, blasted out of her fingers, and smashed together with the yellow demon energy ball. The energy ball barely stood a chance, as it was overcome by Sailor Mars' power, and evaporated into nothingness, Nabiki's ball of flame leaving a thick cloud of smoke from where it had connected.  
  
The students began to clap, that had been exiting! Nabiki bit her lip, looking at her hands.  
  
"Since when could I do that?" she asked quietly to Artemis, a little shocked, but hiding it well.  
  
"Since we made you a Sailor Scout! Why, did you think all there was to it was a cute pair of shoes?" he asked unbelievingly.  
  
"Welll."  
  
"Wait! Don't answer that, I don't want to know!"  
  
"Whoo, go Nabiki!" Akane and Ukyo cheered from a distance, happy she had found her 'inner powers', Ukyo a little perturbed over the fact that she had yet to find her own.  
  
The demon, on the other hand, looked more than a little weirded out now. What, was EVERYONE a super freak around here? Spitting and hissing, he lurched forward, a little lame thanks to Ranma's earlier attack, and threw himself on the boy, mouth open and ready to shoot, hoping for the best. He was getting desperate now.  
  
Ranma hissed too, and crouched down, grabbing the demon around the belly, and then flipping him down onto his back, Ranma on top, holding the large cats paws far apart. The demon howled with pure rage, trying to crane its neck upwards so it could properly bite Ranma's face off, but when the demon gave it too much effort, the deep wound in his side began to throb uncontrollably, and he just couldn't pull it off. Neko Ranma seemed to notice this, and made a triumphant, annoying face. one that possibly Ranma himself would wear.  
  
This, all of it, actually, seemed to be a bit too much for the demon's one track mind. He was supposed to get that envelope to Lady Ritsuko dammit! And he would rather die than have a bunch of lousy kids get in the way of that!-Hey, where was the envelope, anyway? Glancing quickly around, the look in his eyes quite hysteric, the demon spotted the said envelope, just over Ranma's shoulder. it was in the hands of that stupid little blue haired girl with the dinky outfit!! Over come with a sudden bout of blind rage, (a symptom that most newcomers faced when staying in Nermia for any period of time, really.) the demon ignored his pulsing pain, and shot up quick enough to surprise Ranma, its impressive fangs grazing his face, and leaving a line of red on his cheek bone. Ranma snapped back, snarling, arms extended and ready for another attack, this thing was DEAD now!- only to find that the demon had already zipped passed him, another goal in mind now.  
  
Akane squeaked in horror as she realized too late that the demon was headed straight towards HER, and didn't have the time to remove her tiara, or effectively use it at this close a range. She clutched Luna and the envelope to her, hoping to at least shield them. A ways off now, Ranma gave off a roar of anger. How DARE that MONSTER attack HIS mate!! He raced forward, but before he could make it the whole way, someone else got to the demon first.  
  
"Jupiter, Thunder. SPATULAS!" Ukyo cried, arms raised above her head as she brought her large spatula down, for the second time that day, on the demon's head. However, this time, there was an extra punch to the attack, in the form of powerful lightening and scout energy. The demon barely knew what hit him before he was unconscious on the floor, deep red blood trickling from his mouth, body covered in access lighting, and his head looking distinctly flatter.  
  
"Oh my gosh, Ukyo!" Akane gasped in surprise, as Nabiki and Artemis broke away from the crowd, and jogged over to the group. Now that the danger had passed, of course.  
  
"Good job Jupiter! That was an innovative. and. creative way to use your new powers!" Luna congratulated. Well. that had been different, but at least it worked!  
  
"Thanks!" Ukyo gasped, cheeks flush, her face a large smile. However, her smile was quickly replaced by a frown as Neko-Ranma came onto the scene, practically flying onto Akane's lap, and licking her face gently, as if searching for wounds. Akane looked a little flattered that he was so worried for her, but pushed him away anyway, giving him a heartening smile. Ukyo glowered darkly, unnoticed by anyone. She could never get his attention like this with that cat! What was it about Ranma's neko-ken form that loved Akane so much? Heck, he noticeably ignored all of the other fiancées when he was like this, and Ukyo decided firmly that it was simply because he was so unnatural in neko-ken, and couldn't express his feelings properly. Yeah. That was it. She turned her head away as Akane began to absentmindedly stroke his head when she talked, and he purred, in turn. The students formed a tighter ring around the girls as they began to discuss further plans, but a sharp look from Sailor Mars, which looked so terrifyingly familiar, scared the better part of them off.  
  
"Good job girls. even though a large part of the job was done by your unusual friend here, two of you DID unlock your powers! I am very pleased!" Luna said, talking softly, even though in her heart she knew that none of the students would blink if they heard her really talk.  
  
"Plus, now we have this artifact, and that's one more Ritsuko DOESN'T have!" Artemis added happily.  
  
"About this Ritsuko person." Akane said, still confused about this woman, who was apparently very evil and troublesome, according to the two cats. Luna sighed.  
  
"Yes, we must talk about her. She is a very dangerous enemy, and is the cause of all of our problems thus far. We'll have to have a scout meeting later." she said simply.  
  
"Ohhh. scout meeting! Sounds official," Nabiki gushed.  
  
"It is. and we'll expect you all to be there tomorrow at five. in the arcade on Sakura Street."  
  
"But that's all the way in Juban!" Akane protested, while Ukyo sighed. The Uchan really couldn't take too much more of this, when would she be able to go back to work?  
  
"I know, but you'll just have to manage." Luna acknowledged. "It's the real scouts hide out, after all."  
  
"Great." Nabiki snorted. "The universe's greatest super heroes discuss the world's well being while playing serious games of pac-man."  
  
"Actually it's the Sailor V game."  
  
"Even better!"  
  
"Come on guys, we better go, too many people around here," Artemis interjected quietly, eyeing the students warily. Nabiki picked him up, and Akane Luna, agreeing to the fact that maybe it was time to go. "What about him?" Artemis asked, as Ranma started to travel along with the girls. His eyes narrowed slightly. He would definitely have to ask more about that one later. If he really WAS Ranma Saotome, perhaps he could still be of great use. now, how to actually TALK to him.  
  
"Oh!" Akane said. "Well. we need a bucket of water to change him back. but. Sailor Moon wouldn't know how to fix this. soo." looking around, Akane quickly spotted Ryoga, off to the side, still awkwardly observing everything. He obviously didn't want to approach the huddle of girls in uncomfortably short skirts, and was beside himself with confusion. Akane smiled kindly.  
  
"Hey Ry- you!" she said quickly, trotting over to him, with Ranma in tow. "Could you take care of him, please? You're his friend, right?"  
  
"Y-yes." Ryoga said softly. This girl. Sailor Moon, she was so beautiful! He felt his heart rate speed up considerably. He could hardly believe she was talking to him!  
  
"Could you help him then? We have to go now." Akane explained.  
  
"Ummm. sure." Ryoga said hesitantly, although he realized that with his luck, when he tried to splash Ranma with water, he would inevitably get turned into P-chan, and then Ranma would beat him up in his pig form.  
  
"Thanks!" Akane chirped, turning to go. However, Neko Ranma held onto her thigh with one hand, refusing to let her leave, with a small frown. Akane smiled involuntarily.  
  
"Hey Kitty-Ranma. I have to go now. but I'll be back soon.okay?" she whispered softly in his ear, so that only he could hear, and kneeling down. Neko Ranma clearly heard the urgency in her voice, and released her with one more intimate lick to the face. Akane blush, and wished, once more, that he could really be like this more often. Ryoga raised an eyebrow, wondering why Ranma's cat self had taken a liking to Sailor Moon, and Ukyo growled quietly, knowing just why. Nabiki smirked, Artemis, on her shoulder, wondering if there was more going on between those two than he had originally thought.  
  
"Well, let's go!" Akane said, rejoining her group, as Ryoga wandered off in search of water, Yuka and Sayuri eventually having to guide him the right way so that he didn't end up in Jamaica. Ranma trotted along behind them all, occasionally sneaking glances in the way Akane had left.  
  
And as the scouts finally exited the school grounds, the students all cheered for them, thanking them for helping with the monster, and encouraging them to come back ANY TIME they wanted! The girls all laughed, obviously liking the attention.  
  
"Remember girls! Tomorrow at five!" the cats reminded the scouts as they all went their separate ways, Ukyo promising to inform Shampoo, and Nabiki her own sister, of their meeting for the following day. Friday. Right. TGIF to you, too.  
  
*  
  
"No!" Ritsuko hissed, clenching her fists, and chipping the paint off her deep red nails. She stood outside the gates of her current high school, pleated skirt blowing around her knees as she stared into space, not seeing what was actually in front of her, but the actions of her precious Demon Cat. she did not like this. The new scouts were NOT supposed to be learning this quickly, and they were NOT supposed to be getting outside assistance from random freaks who had mastered neko-ken! She made a face that scared two students innocently walking by, urging them to hurry along their way now, bitches.  
  
"Heh heh.having some trouble handling the new scouts, are we, Ritsuko- chan?" a taunting voice came from the shadows, its form unclear and partially invisible. His voice was only heard by the evil blond who posed as a high school girl, and it was probably better that way. His kind was rarely accepted by humans.  
  
"Oh go jump off a bridge," Ritsuko pouted, folding her arms and looking very cross. Furious, even. She did NOT need to talk to HIM right now. "I'll get them! I've just been underestimating their strength, is all. sending second raters like my Demon Cat after them was bad judgment." she explained.  
  
"Ha, I'll say!" the thing croaked in its annoying rasp of a voice. "At this rate, you might have to go all out!"  
  
"Oh, what do you know, Miji!" she snapped, her eyes flashing with an inner steel. Miji, the eerie form, laughed yet again at her predicament. He loved it when she was in trouble.  
  
"Come on, let me get a piece of the action! I'll take them all out for you!" Miji promised. "After all, it was I who first informed you of the scouts disappearance first! Is this how I am repaid?"  
  
"Miji, you can hardly make your self solid anymore, much less take out five scouts! Terribly green ones even! But. you have been a reliable source of information."  
  
"Yes, yes!"  
  
"Perhaps I'll let you try your hand at them."  
  
"Whheee!"  
  
"Later."  
  
"What?" Miji croaked, crest fallen. "But that's no FAIR!" he whined pathetically. Ritsuko snorted daintily and began to hurry away.  
  
"Sorry, but it's the best I can offer," she said simply, purposely walking down a very, very sunny street. "I have something of my own planned for those wretched girls," she added, smiling cruelly at the mere thought of her wonderful brilliant and wicked plan. This curse hadn't been placed upon a town in YEARS! It was perfect. "If they're still alive when I'm done with them. you can have a go!" she said.  
  
"Come back here Ritsuko!" Miji called, trying to pull himself out of the shadows, and violently recoiling when his small foot hit sunlight. He fell back into the darkness with a hiss, like a vampire. He simply couldn't TAKE such brightness! "Ritsukooo!"  
  
Ritsuko sashayed off, smiling and brewing a new, better plot in her head. She would get them this time.. And then no one would be in her way of sucking the entire country dry of their precious energy!  
  
Mwahahahahahaha.mwah.ha..  
  
*  
  
The now male Ranma winced slightly as Kasumi applied the disinfectant with a cotton swab to the lone scrape across his cheekbone, while Dr. Tofu wrapped up Ryoga's severely scraped arm. Apparently, getting Neko-Ranma to sit still while you splashed a bucket of bone freezing water over him was harder than first imagined.  
  
"So. you say that the Sailor Scouts were there, Ryoga?" Kasumi asked again, trying not to look TOO interested. Tofu had told her that someone named 'Luna' had called for her when they were working on Mr. Tekura after the accident, but she hadn't realized there had been real trouble! Well, she supposed there would have been nothing she could have done about it, anyway.  
  
"Yeah, it was sort of weird. Ranma did most of the fighting, anyway, but I think that's mainly because no one else could control him. He seemed pretty eager to get rid of that cat demon though."  
  
"C-cat demon. ugh. Glad I don't remember anything!" Ranma said, shivering with a sick look on his face.  
  
"What happened, exactly?" Kasumi pressed, as Dr. Tofu finished Ryoga's bandage. She got out a smaller band-aid for Ranma's cheek, and listened carefully. The two boys had come quickly to Dr. Tofu's clinic after Ranma had woken up from his neko-ken state for treatment and hot water, but, luckily, neither of them had sustained many injuries from both the fight with the demon, and the fight they had started before hand. Just a bunch of bruises.  
  
"Y-Yes, I- I would be interested to hear what the S-Sailor Scouts were d-d-doing in our neighborhooood," Tofu agreed in the most controlled voice he could muster. When he had been operating with Kasumi, who had, luckily, been on hand earlier, (Kasumi was a wonderful helper/nurse at the clinic when needed.) he had been totally cool and concentrated, luckily. But the spell was wearing off now that Mr. Tekura was out of the woods. Soon he would be dancing with Betty again. oh well.  
  
"Well, first Ranma and I were fighting." Ryoga began.  
  
"I remember that part," Ranma added helpfully.  
  
"And then all of the sudden there was this big cat demon, that looked sort of like a saber tooth, right there in the school yard!"  
  
"I kind of remember that.ahhh."  
  
"And then Ranma froze all up, obviously, and started to change. Then, before you knew it, the Sailor Scouts were there too!"  
  
"I don't remember that. It's where my memory stops." Ranma finished, nodding his head.  
  
"We were all pretty surprised. there were a lot of students watching, you know, but then Ranma turned all Neko-ken on Sailor Moon, and we had something else to worry about." Ryoga got a wicked gleam in his eye. "Speaking of Sailor Moon, Ranma, you were cozying up to her pretty well."  
  
"What are you talkin' about, bacon breath!?" Ranma questioned furiously.  
  
"It's true! You were acting really familiar with her, rubbing up against her, licking her face, and being pretty damn protective, if I remember correctly." He snorted, a bit of fang showing with his smile.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ranma gasped, mortified. He had LICKED Sailor MOON!?! Noooo! Ryoga was letting out barks of laughter now, and Ranma glared as Kasumi and Dr. Tofu joined in with polite little giggles. Fine. Laugh at his misfortune. He slapped Ryoga hard on the back, and after the muscular boy almost choked, he sobered up a bit and continued on.  
  
"So. anyway. The demon and Ranma fought for a while, Ranma had the upper hand. but after a bit the demon started spitting out these little yellow balls of energy, and the scouts started taking some initiative. One of them shot fire out of her fingers, and one of them threw lighting . spatulas. at the demon."  
  
"Spatulas?" Ranma asked, raising an eyebrow. "But that's just like Ukyo!"  
  
"I know! Weird coincidence, hu?" Ryoga said.  
  
"I'll say," Ranma agreed. Kasumi let out a breath. While she was happy that two more scouts had found their dormant powers. couldn't they have been a little less OBVIOUSE about everything? Especially when they were at the school! She tried to keep her placating smile firmly plastered on as the story went on.  
  
"So, as I was saying, things were getting a little weird, but Ranma had beaten up the demon pretty good already," the strong boy acknowledged, albeit a bit grudgingly. Ranma beamed. "So when the demon got attacked by those spatulas, he keeled over, totally out."  
  
"Interestiiiinnngggg." Tofu sang.  
  
"Yeah. and then Sailor Moon brought Ranma back over to me, I guess she must have seen us together before, and left him with me. Of course. not after he gave her an ADORABLE little kitty kiss!" he added cruelly, sniggering. Ranma's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.  
  
"I did NOT!" he argued.  
  
"You DID too, I watched!" Ryoga retorted, grinning.  
  
"Did NOT!"  
  
"Yes, you DID!"  
  
"No, I DIDN'T!"  
  
"Boys, boys!" Dr Tofu interjected quickly, as the two boys began to rise to their feet. "Let's just forget about it, and think more about this demon, and the Sailor Scouts." he said, his control back momentarily. "Like, what was that demon after, do you think? Why was it at, Furiken?"  
  
"Actually, it just tripped over my umbrella."  
  
"Your umbrella?" Kasumi asked, frowning.  
  
"Yeah, this one," He showed her.  
  
"Ohhh." She understood.  
  
"So, I think it didn't really mean to stop at Furiken," Ryoga elucidated. "I think it may have been running away from the scouts, and they just happened to catch up with him at the school."  
  
"I seeeeee." Doctor Tofu mumbled, eyes cross slightly as Kasumi moved closer to him, very captivated with the story.  
  
"So basically, this was all just some big freak accident. Ch. Big freaking surprise." Ranma sighed, rubbing his head lightly.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure it didn't mean anything!" Kasumi encouraged, smiling innocently.  
  
"Anything! Yes anything!" Tofu chortled in a sort of dazed voice. Kasumi sighed. Oh boy, she knew what was coming. Ranma and Ryoga's eyes twitched slightly. They knew what was coming, too. No! Not when they were injured!  
  
Before Tofu could do any bodily harm to them, Ryoga and Ranma quickly jumped to their feet and made a fast dash for the exit, mumbling their sincere thanks for the bandages, see you sometime Tofu, see you and dinner Kasumi, byeeee!  
  
"Oh, my," Kasumi sighed, as she was left alone in the clinic, the good doctor dancing around the room with a female skeleton in the background. "I better clean things up."  
  
*  
  
The night was fairly warm, so Akane found herself sitting on the roof above her room, enjoying the early autumn breeze, her short hair billowing about her ears. She wore a long pleated skirt that reached her ankles even when she was sitting, and a small white t-shirt. She hooked her arms around her knees, and watched the koi pond from her perch on the roof without a word.  
  
Hearing a small scuffling sound from off to her left, Akane turned her head to watched a newcomer make their way onto the roof as well. She smirked a little as she recognized the person. Ranma. She knew he came up here to be alone and think, often enough. She heard him moving about from inside her room, since he usually liked to lie above it.  
  
The martial artist quickly met her eye, and froze for a second, surprised. Usually, Akane never ventured up here unless Ranma was already occupying a space. It was sort of surprising.  
  
Akane watched Ranma's facial expressions carefully as he struggled with the situation. Technically, he knew he should still be frustrated or angry with her for ditching him at lunch, not telling him what she was up to. hiding things. but seeing her there, looking all pretty in the moonlight. he couldn't bring himself to muster the ugly feelings he needed to be upset. Best to let it wait until morning, where feelings like agitation and disgust were abundant.  
  
"Hey Ranma," Akane said kindly, once it was obvious the boy was going to be content to simply sit next to her. She blushed as she realized just how close he was sitting. she had not forgotten his actions as Neko-Ranma from earlier. Oh, on the contrary, they were all she had been thinking about since the fight ended. She bit her lip as she remembered that Ranma, nor anyone, realized that it had actually been HER he had been so affectionately rubbing up against earlier. Damn it all. Er. she meant.  
  
"Hey," he replied, nodding his head, a pleasant expression on his face. "What's up," Akane sighed and looked back up at the stars. They weren't as easy to see as in other places out of Tokyo, but they were still pretty vibrant that night, none-the-less.  
  
"Oh, nothing much. I guess I was just thinking about stuff. you know. homework and such." she said, lying out of her ears. When was the last time she had lied so much? Well, she guessed she damn well better get used to it. Ranma nodded, apparently understanding.  
  
"Yeah, I don't think I did any of the homework for school yesterday. or today." he commented nonchalantly.  
  
"Ranma!" she sighed. "How do you expect to pass your classes like this?"  
  
"Ahhh. we've been through this 'Kane." He groaned. And they HAD. "I don't plan on passing! A martial artist doesn't need school to reach his goals! He needs to train! Luckily for me, Furiken is pretty crazy, so just going to class is like training all day, in any case!" the boy explained, grinning. Akane resisted the overwhelming urge to ring his neck. When he talked like that, it felt like he was throwing all of her ideals, and her entire way of life thus far, out of the window! Well, she was a martial artist too, and she planned on not only passing all of her classes, but going to college! Why did he have to be so utterly dumb about his future? Not that she CARED or anything, but. oh, who was she kidding, she really cared! It bothered her!  
  
"Whatever Ranma, I don't really feel like arguing about THAT right now," she admitted, wearily, placing her chin on her knees. She was pretty exhausted from all of the action earlier, come to think of it. Ranma looked startled by her comment. AKANE, didn't want to fight?  
  
"Yeah, I don't want to either," he acknowledged, leaning back on the roof, with his arms acting as a pillow for his head. They sat in silence for a bit longer, both lost in their own thoughts, before Akane joined him in laying down, their heads mere inches apart now. Surprisingly, neither of them seemed to notice it, much.  
  
"Ranma. what is it like, to be really powerful?" she asked, her question so innocent and honest, it took the great Ranma Saotome by surprise.  
  
"What?" he asked. "Like. what do you mean really powerful?"  
  
"Like. you know. to be really strong and have a lot of power!" she sighed, spelling it out for him as she turned her head to face him. In a softer, more demure voice, she added. "Like you." Ranma felt his face heat up, but hid his embarrassment and pleasure over the fact that Akane thought he was really powerful, by seriously considering her question.  
  
"Welll." he said, blue eyes clouding over as he recalled all of the times he had REALLY had power, and had to use it. "It's a lot of responsibility." He decided to start off with. "Because, when you have a lot of strength, it makes you really aware of how WEAK everyone else is, and if you're in a tough situation, that you have to protect 'em!" Akane was listening intently. Did he feel that way about her all the time? Was she just another weak person who needed protecting that he had to add to the list? "But. it's also a good feeling, as long as you don't get carried away with it, and become some jack ass who's obsessed with themselves. Though, usually, when you really reach your peak in power, its because there's someone equally as strong, or stronger then you, wanting a fight. So, you rarely get to appreciate how strong you are just then, you know?" he said, turning his face towards Akane's as well, watching to see if she had followed him. That was one of the longer speeches he had ever said. Usually, it was the other person doing all of the talking/ranting/insulting/accusing. but tonight, the other person seemed perfectly content to just LISTEN to him. A bit of a dramatic change in Akane, if you asked him.  
  
"Yeah, I think I do," Akane replied simply, looking into his eyes, a bit surprised. That had made a whole lot of sense, coming from Ranma! But. she had just wanted to know because, as Sailor Moon, she was beginning to realize that all of her skills, martial art wise and in terms of scout power, were really enhanced. And it wasn't as though she was just overflowing with might and strength as of yet. but. she could see herself becoming a whole lot stronger if this Sailor Moon thing continued on. She wasn't to sure what she thought of that, but Ranma's words HAD really helped. "And. thanks," she added in a softer voice.  
  
Their noses were nearly touching now, and they were finally getting to realize just how close they were. Ranma looked deeply into Akane's chocolate brown orbs, and suddenly realized, just then, for a fact, that she was definitely hiding something very important from him. But as her intense gaze, and soft pink lips began to melt his heart, he realized he honestly didn't care. not just then. anyway.  
  
'What am I doing?' Akane wondered as their faces got closer and closer, and Ranma's stormy blue eyes began to close, her own head instinctively tilting up, the moonlight washing over them giving everything a dreamy, even romantic light. 'Is he going to. am I going to.' Akane was sure not only Ranma, but the entire neighborhood was acutely aware of the sound of her pounding heart, her burning cheeks, her shaking hands. and then she wasn't sure of anything. as their lips connected.. And she . kissed. Ranma. 'OhhhhhmiGod.'  
  
"Akane," he breathed softly, as the small, warm and innocent kiss ended, and they were both left to stare at each other again. 'She's so pretty.' he discovered, watching her deep pink blush spread over her pearl white cheeks. 'But. what did I just do.' And suddenly, Ranma was hit with a wave of confusion. What DID he just do? Oh no. if any of the other fiancées were watching, if Nabiki had gotten that on camera, was Akane mad!? So completely insecure, the poor boy leaped to his feet, Akane gasping and abruptly sitting up as he did so, the spell broken. She looked up at him, her eyes questioning.  
  
"Ranma?" she asked, cocking her head, her expression looking maybe a little hurt.  
  
"Akane. I'm sorry. don't be mad!" he said, bracing himself. He was going to get malleted to England for that one! But. but he found himself not really caring, since he had thoroughly enjoyed the kiss. 'She's really good,' he acknowledged, a goofy grin making its way onto his features.  
  
But Akane was frowning now. Sorry? Sorry for what? For kissing her? Why? Had he not liked it? Did he not want to do it again? She did. Wait! What was she saying? No she didn't! Not with that creep!  
  
Now just as confused as her fiancée, the small school girl got to her feet and dashed off the roof, not even bothering to mallet the apprehensive boy. She just didn't have it in her. sleep was what she needed. yes! Sleep! She quickly traveled down the ladder and was out of sight in a blink, shaking her head and successfully holding back tears until she reached her room. What was it about him that made her so damn selfconscious? Ranma stared after her, dumbly. Ummm. maybe he shouldn't have jumped up like that. she had looked pretty pissed.  
  
"Ranma, you are such an idiot!" the boy cursed, smacking his head. His mother should have married a lawyer. or a banker. or a butcher. anyone but a father who engaged his son to numerous off-their-rocker girls, and then got his own child cursed to BE one of those girls. Jesus. "I need some valium." He decided firmly, for the first time in his life wishing he actually did drugs.  
  
* The next day, all five girls found themselves reunited once more.  
  
"Aiya! Shampoo wish had been there!" Shampoo cursed, folding her arms and frowning. "Talk to Grandma, get to give Shampoo more breaks!"  
  
The girls had all obediently caught a bus to Juban after school, as requested, that Friday, and by five exactly, had reached 'Crown Arcades', a seemingly innocent arcade, with numerous Juban high school students wasting all of their allowance on Sailor V and racing games. The girls sat in a booth off to the side, drinking milkshakes and fountain sodas. How quaint. Was this really where the Sailor Scouts met and planned their attack strategies? Right next to the Alien Attack Game and the big fake plant?  
  
"Ah, you didn't miss much Shampoo," Ukyo assured the girl. "It was all just Neko-Ranma beating up the demon, we hardly did much," She brushed her long brown hair over her shoulder, still in her male uniform, and getting a lot of looks from guys that said simply 'But do I wish I was HIM, getting to sit with all those pretty girls.' She glowered at them quietly.  
  
"Heh. Neko-Ranma seemed to be enjoying himself, though," Nabiki grinned, elbowing her little sister. "Ey, Akane?"  
  
"Err." Akane mumbled. She was still recovering from the kiss last night, and had not spoken to Ranma all day, the two walking close together to school and to class, but not saying a word, for fear of starting an emotional avalanche of sorts. She didn't no WHAT to think about Ranma. Had he meant that kiss? Was it just an accident? A freak happening never to be performed again? SHE HAD TO KNOW! "I guess."  
  
"What?" Shampoo asked, confused. Nabiki's grin] widened. Oh, she loved upsetting people!  
  
"Ranma's neko-ken form was ALL OVER Akane as Sailor Moon. It was sooo cuute!" Nabiki explained.  
  
"Hmmm." Shampoo growled lightly. Maybe Ukyo was right, maybe she HADN'T missed anything.  
  
"In any case, girls, I do believe we have things of much importance to discuss." Luna informed them all. Everyone shut up quickly, listening intently to their new and tiny mentor.  
  
"Now, we know that you all wanted to know how much of an obligation this was going to be, and how long you would be holding this position. We also know it would be very informative for you at this point to know who the enemy actually is, currently." Artemis started, ticking off things on his paws.  
  
"Yes, when WILL the Sailor Scouts be returning? We asked before, but you didn't say." Kasumi mentioned, sipping on her chocolate milk shake.  
  
"Hm, well, about that." Artemis seemed hesitant to answer. Well. they had to get around to it sometime.  
  
"And what are they doing off Earth for so long a period of time, anyway? Shouldn't their main priority be this planet?" Akane pressed. She had been wondering about this one, actually.  
  
"Ummm." Luna said, intelligently.  
  
"Aiyah, is irresponsible of them!" Shampoo agreed vigorously.  
  
"See, the thing of it is," Artemis finally sighed. Here goes.  
  
"We don't actually know if they're coming back."  
  
".WHAT!?" Was what everyone had to say to THAT.  
  
*  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Hmmm, what could have happened to the Sailor Scouts?! Ahhh!! You'll just have to wait to the next chapter to find out! (Chapter five: .Haven't made a title yet.) And, about that, but, sorry I don't know when I'm going to be able to actually get the new chapter out. Possibly next week, maybe longer. there are a lot of things going on right now, that could hinder my writing. Among them are: midterms, a police interrogation, (actually I'm sort of exited about that one.) I'm grounded, an entire school I don't even go to anymore thinks I'm a slut, my parents aren't talking to me right now, I lost my cell phone, need new orthodontist, (even though I don't have braces) I failed my math test by one point, clubbing issues, I have to go to school on weekends and do community service for a month, and I don't really know why I'm telling you all this. BUT, please review! (Eye twitch.) PLEASE.  
  
Rio ~  
  
-(Whoa! Did you know another Rio reviewed my story? Duuuude.) -(Saturn Cat and Shane, thank you so much! Sorry I just don't have the time to mention everyone's names. yeah.) 


	6. Plagued Part One

Hey! It's chapter five, already! (In all honesty, I can't believe I've even gotten this far. It's sort of shocking.) I'm sort of on a fan-fiction- posting-rampage! I can't contain myself! I've already posted like, two or three new fics, on top of my Bebop fic, and. and. it's all just. too . much.. Ahhh. (Especially No Regrets, to anyone who has read that. Whoo, it's a weird one.) On the other hand, I'm really thankful for all of the kind reviews, I really love them, and I hope you all continue to enjoy this story. (Remember: Reviews are what fuels this fic, so the more reviews, the more chapters!)  
  
I don't own Ranma ½ or Sailor Moon, and please enjoy!  
  
*- Oh! And to the reviewer (Err. don't have your name. on hand. sorry.) who was worried about the lack of Kunos. dooon't worry. they'll come around. They're not in THIS chapter, but, they'll be there.  
  
*- AND to the reviewer who made the comment about P-chan and Akane. stop making such good guesses! Shhhh!  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Chapter Five: Plagued.(Part one.)  
  
*  
  
"WHAT!?" All of the girls chorused, eyes wide.  
  
"Wait- let me rephrase that! They're coming back!. we're just not absolutely sure WHEN. In fact, it could be years." Luna admitted, sighing. All of the girls collapsed into their seats, heaving sighs. Well, being a Sailor Scout for years was bad. Yes, it wasn't good. However, it was WAY better than being a scout FOREVER. They didn't think they were ready for that sort of commitment to the job.  
  
"Why did you scare us like that?" Nabiki groaned, rubbing her head, and chugging her milk shake.  
  
"Sorry," Luna shrugged. "Slip of the tongue."  
  
"Do you know why the Sailor Scouts are gone?" Kasumi asked, leaning forward, a worried frown etched onto her features.  
  
"Yes. we do." Artemis replied. "And we really should have told you all this before, but.you see, a few weeks ago, the scouts were called away to help save another galaxy, as a personal favor to the scouts who protected that area. It was a rather serious threat, that could have eventually traveled to Earth, so the scouts took it upon themselves to take down this problem before it could reach our planet, and inevitably caused havoc upon this solar system."  
  
"Which seemed like a good idea, at the time," Luna admitted. "However, as the days went by, with no word from the girls, we realized a minor error in our calculations. First off: There is no way to communicate with the girls while they are on this journey. They are too many trillions of light years away, and our telepathic connections can't work out of the Silver Millennium's solar system," Akane looked as though she were about to ask just what the hell the 'Silver Millennium' was, but thought better of it. She probably didn't really want to know, anyway.  
  
"Not to mention, time flows differently varying from world to world, especially when you're that far away in terms of light years and space travel. We don't know where the girls are, or how long a minute, a day, or a YEAR is in the world they're in." the black cat sighed regretfully, shaking her head. "It was a terrible error of judgment on our part, and we should have foreseen problems like this!- but we didn't. And we found ourselves in a bit of trouble, when the word that Ritsuko, one of Earth's only remaining demons, who has been free of the scouts wrath for the simple reason as she hasn't ATTEMPTED anything in ages and cannot be proven guilty of any crimes at this point." she took a breath. "Was on the move again. With the Sailor Scouts off fighting a colossal battle which could take anywhere from a few days to a few years to finish, we don't know, this was the perfect time for her to strike. There is no longer anyone to stop her."  
  
"Yes, Ritsuko is very intelligent, and has been waiting for the right moment to make her move, and regain power over Earth, as she had in the days before the Sailor Scouts were around," Artemis said, sitting on the table ledge.  
  
"You know, a few days ago, I didn't even know the Sailor Scouts really existed. And now it seems as though they've been keeping the world as we know it stable." Akane said, resting her cheek in her hand, and stirring her root beer float dully around with a straw. After all that had happened, she didn't think she would be surprised if she suddenly sprouted wings and became Princess of the galaxy. Waitasec.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you mean. No offense, Luna, Artemis, but this is pretty hard to swallow," Ukyo admitted. The cats looked generally apologetic, bowing their heads.  
  
"We know, and we're very sorry to have dumped such a large responsibility on you when it's not actually your duty to defend Earth. But we're asking you to hold this position. if not for us then for the people of this planet. Please. We know you can do it." Luna said, her tone deathly grim. The girls all traded weary glances. Did they really have a choice, when she put it like that?  
  
". All right, I'm in,"  
  
"Me too,"  
  
"Shampoo protect Earth,"  
  
"I guess there's no other choice!"  
  
"Yeah, why not?" Luna and Artemis looked as though they could have burst with pride.  
  
"Oh girls, I know you'll make WONDERFULL temporary scouts!" Luna said, happily.  
  
"Yeah, and that STILL sounds like a stupid title. 'Temporary'? Couldn't you make it something more official and cool sounding? Like.the provisional scouts? Less people know what that means!" Nabiki pointed out.  
  
"Er. sure!" Luna said, shrugging.  
  
"Now, about that Ritsuko demon." Ukyo said, checking her watch. If she wanted to make it back to Nerima (( It has been pointed out to me that THAT'S how you spell it. Heh. Yeahhh, I'm a dumb ass!..) before too late, this meeting better speed up.  
  
"Of course! Now, Ritsuko is a demon who cannot produce her own demonic energy. she must steal souls and aura from other beings in order to maintain her level of power." Artemis explained, giving the girls a crash course lesson on different classifications of demons.  
  
"Shampoo no understand," Shampoo said, narrowing her eyes. "How can she be demon if she no have demon powers already?"  
  
"Well, she DOES have demon powers, but they're pretty useless unless she can add fuel to them, and enhance them," Artemis tried to explained patiently. "It's like. all of the other demons are plants. using the sun's energy. and she's an animal! Having to consume other things to stay healthy!"  
  
"Okay, you had me before, but now you lost me,"  
  
"She just steals energy from humans to make herself stronger, right?" Akane reiterated for her friends.  
  
"Yes," Artemis agreed. "It's a very rare type of demon, that is especially dangerous because she can raise her power levels to frightening heights if she finds the right victim. Unfortunately, after the scouts took out Beryl, their first real enemy, she sank into the shadows, and the scouts couldn't find a logical reason to hunt her down. She wasn't DOING anything."  
  
"But now there's evidence she's begun to suck people dry, once more. Her victims look a bit like mummified people, and have had their souls stolen. If she had completed the draining process when you find a victim, there is no hope for them. However, if you can stop Ritsuko it in the act, the person's soul can be returned," Luna said, as she feared the girls might soon have to deal with this very situation.  
  
"This person sounds dangerous," Ukyo admitted. "What does she look like?"  
  
"And there lies another problem. She looks like any normal teenager! By stealing energy for all of these years, she has kept her youthful appearance up, even though her real age is around 530 years. She especially likes to stay at high schools, where she can sometimes feed off kid's lively energy without actually making contact with them. High schools have a lot of activity going on, after all." Luna pointed out.  
  
"Creepy," Nabiki said.  
  
"Yes, especially because, just the other day, five mummified boys were found dead in the gymnasium of the high school with think Ritsuko might currently be attending," Artemis admitted. "We investigated it, and it definitely looks like her handy work. she's not even bothering to hide herself anymore. a bad sign." He said solemnly.  
  
"Ewww. sounds like a horror film," Akane murmured.  
  
"Well, don't worry about a thing guys! We'll have this freak bagged in no time!" Ukyo said, smiling broadly.  
  
"What makes you so confident?" Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow. "This sounds like the hardest villain we've had to face yet, AND if she really is responsible for all of the other attacks. the smartest."  
  
"Well, I just found my new power! And thunder spatulas we'll save the day!" Ukyo cheered, obviously thrilled she had become a real scout now, and had gained powers she could never have dreamed of obtaining before.  
  
"Heyyy! Why Shampoo no found her power yet? Is strongest one here!" the girl pouted, a scowl on her face.  
  
"You wanna bet?" Akane asked, eyebrow twitching.  
  
"Shampoo, it's not the physical strength which unlocks your power, but the power of your heart! I've been through this," Luna said, as if talking to a small child.  
  
"Way to make her feel better." Nabiki snorted.  
  
"Shampoo have big strong heart!" the girl protested. "Have strong heart that love Aireen veerrry much!" she giggled, clasping her hands together.  
  
"Care to repeat that, sugar?" Ukyo dared, getting to her feet and glaring daggers at the Amazon. SHE loved Ran-chan the most!  
  
"Fine! Shampoo love Aireen VEERRRY mu-"  
  
"Stop!" Luna cried, growling. These girls fought almost as much as Usagi and Rei! "Who is this 'Aireen', anyway?" she asked.  
  
"Why, it's Ranma," Kasumi explained.  
  
"You mean the weird boy who turned into that cat like person?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow. Those girls were fighting over HIM? But he looked like a major freak!  
  
"Oh, yes!" Kasumi giggled. "Shampoo, Ukyo, and Akane are all engaged to him!"  
  
"WHAT?" Luna and Artemis choked, looking shocked.  
  
"Oh my God, we never told you," Nabiki said, startled.  
  
"How is that possible? How were you all engaged to this one man? And at such a young age?" Luna asked, as Artemis shook his head in disbelief. He knew these girls were weird, but this was just unbelievable. It also complicated the relationship he needed to have with that boy.  
  
"Well, it was basically all his dumb father's fault. He got Ranma engaged to just about every girl on the planet and their friend, for food and money, a long time ago," Ukyo explained.  
  
"But, that's terrible!"  
  
"You're telling us?" Akane sighed. "It's hell, and he hasn't chosen one fiancée yet. Not that I WANT him to pick me,or anything!" she quickly assured everyone, even though she was currently reconsidering that statement herself. "It's just frustrating."  
  
"Hm, but we all know he choose Shampoo for bride!" Shampoo said, total confidence in her voice, as she placed her hands on her hips. Nabiki had to step in front of her as Akane and Ukyo prepared to pounce.  
  
"Stop it!" she yelled. "Don't you people ever quit?!"  
  
"Really girls, I wish you'd told us this sooner. It's very disturbing," Luna said, frowning.  
  
"Would it have made a difference?" Akane asked flatly.  
  
"Well, no, but, as your new mentor, I'd like to be informed of things like this,"  
  
"And that's all swell and great, but if this meeting's over. I gotta head back and help close up shop," Ukyo said, standing up, and digging through her pocket for money to pay for the drink. Okay, this meeting officially sucked! Why couldn't people just understand that she and Ranma were DESINTED to be? After all, she had known him the longest.  
  
"Shampoo too," Shampoo admitted, her voice glum. Ohhh boy, she didn't need Cologne breathing down her back again, the old woman was very astute, and could tell something was up. If she found out Shampoo was really the 'provisional' Sailor Venus!- well, it's best to not think of such things.  
  
"Thanks for telling us about everything," Akane said, as she placed her share on the table, and then followed Kasumi out of the arcade, having to drag Nabiki along as she has stopped to flirt with the cute manager of the arcade, Andy.  
  
"Just when you think you've got it all figured out," Luna said, staring after her new pupils, disbelief obvious in her brown eyes.  
  
"I know, that's so weird! How could a father do that to a child?" Artemis said.  
  
"I don't know, but perhaps this boy needs further investigation? He seems to have a rather large effect on the girls lives." Luna said, hoping off the table, and walking into the shadows, where no one would notice the cats whispering to each other. Artemis stiffened.  
  
"Yeah! Um- Good thinking! But, don't worry, I'll take care of it. You just watch the girls!" he said quickly. Luna raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, if that's how you want it." she said, shrugging. "I don't see why not. Just be careful, you remember what cats do to him."  
  
"I think I've got it figured out," Artemis admitted.  
  
*  
  
Later that night, Ranma stared up at the ceiling of his room, making a valiant effort to ignore the pulsating boom of his father snoring, but a few feet away from him. Jesus, it was even worse when he was a panda!  
  
Rolling over on his futon, and stuffing his pillow over his head, Ranma was preparing to get up and desecrate the sacred bond shared between father's and son's that proclaimed, 'Thou shall not bludgeon thy father over his head.ith. with a toaster oven..ith.', when suddenly something else grabbed his attention, and his father's head was saved.  
  
"Ah!" Ranma commented, as a ghostly form casually glided through his room's very solid wall, arms folded.  
  
He was a handsome man, as far as creepy people who just intrude into your room during an un-Godly hour of the night, generally go. His hair was long and a glimmering shade of silver, his eyes a pale, piercing blue, and he wore a vibrantly white suit with blue lining, with a long cape. He rather reminded Ranma of that guy Yueh from Card Captor Sakura. (Not that he READ that comic or anything. okay, well, not ALL the time, at least. And, that subscription to the fan club online had been a TOTAL mistake on the site's part.) And he was definitely radiating some powerful vibes. Ranma narrowed his eyes.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked, bravely, puffing out his chest, and deciding he would have looked a whole lot more impressive if he wasn't wearing only his boxers.  
  
"I want to talk to you," the tall man said, his voice deep and commanding. Ranma raised an eyebrow carefully.  
  
"That's all? No fighting, no ransom notes for my fiancées, no tribes back in the homeland I have to go help save? thing. CHINESE?" Ranma asked suspiciously, not likely to believe that this man just wanted to TALK after breaking into his room. And if he DID, it would have been a first.  
  
The man's eye twitched lightly, and he quickly put a hand over it, sighing. He needed to take a vacation. What in the seven hells was this kid babbling about?  
  
"No.Nothing. CHINESE. However. I do need to discuss important things having to do with the Sailor Scouts with you. Please, don't be alarmed, but it's very urgent," he admitted, stepping forward. Ranma was starting to wonder how he had come in through the wall if he was obviously very real and un-transparent like.  
  
"The Sailor Scouts?" Ranma asked, his curiosity peeked. "Does this have anything to do with that incident the other day? I didn't tear any of them to shreds, did I?! Ryoga didn't mention it if I did."  
  
And that damn random eye spasm again!  
  
"No! You didn't kill any of the scouts! I wanted to discuss you helping them on their latest mission!" the man quipped.  
  
"What? Why do THEY need MY help? Aren't they all powerful Goddesses or something?" Ranma asked, shaking his hands around for dramatic effect.  
  
"Well, the original ones are." the man sighed.  
  
" 'Original ones?' I think you need to make things a little clearer for me here, man, I'm loosing ya," Ranma stated, frowning. If there was one thing he did NOT need, it was to be caught up in a battle that involved lots of pretty girls wearing an indecent amount of clothing. The fiancées would KILL him. The man, with a frown to rival Ranma's, kneeled down on the floor across from the boy now, his serious expression fully on.  
  
"Listen carefully Ranma Saotome, for what I am about to tell you is confidential information only given out to you because we're in a bit of what one would call a tight fix here, and you are possibly one of our only allies, currently. I am Artemis of the Silver Millennium, mentor to the Scouts." He started, as if this were supposed to have a large effect on Ranma. When there obviously wasn't, Artemis continued, a little insulted. "The original Sailor Scouts are currently. preoccupied . elsewhere, and cannot currently help save Earth because,. just because." Artemis said, stumbling over his words as he tried not to give out TOO much information. Damn, he should have prepared a speech or something.  
  
"Uh hu." Ranma replied, his expression quizzical. This man was obviously off his rocker. "Anything else I should know?" he asked flatly. Artemis, in his human form, continued on.  
  
"We currently have a group of replacement scouts working for us, in an effort to sustain the peace. They were the ones who stopped by your school.("You mean I wasn't licking the REAL Sailor Moon? Cheep!") However, they are green and not used to their scout powers. And especially now that we have a real villain on our hands, things could get complicated, and dangerous. I have seen what you can do and I am impressed, to say the least. Even if your techniques are a bit. far out. at times, you are a formidable martial artist, and I would be able to sleep easier if I were to know you were out there, helping out the new scout team." Artemis finished, crossing his fingers.  
  
"No." Ranma stated simply, his expression hardly changing.  
  
"No?" Artemis choked, surprised. Wasn't Ranma supposed to be a good- hearted Superman type guy? Where did he get off saying 'No' to this holy crusade Artemis had bestowed upon him? This was important shit, dammit!  
  
"No," Ranma repeated, firmly. "I don't need this, I already have too many other things to worry about, and, honestly, this isn't my problem! I don't need to be out there chasing demon's who haven't done a thing to me, when I already have a list of monsters spanning about twenty miles who HAVE! I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you, Artemis. Go ask someone else to be your backup, or whatever. Hey! I know, ask Kuno! He's totally into this sort of thing!" 'And maybe he'll be so in love with these Sailor Scouts, he'll leave me and 'Kane alone!' Ranma thought, cackling evilly inside his head.  
  
"But. Kuno is insane."  
  
"Point." Well, FINE.  
  
"Ranma, I've already looked into all of the other options in this town, and you are the most highly qualified. Please, we NEED you! Tokyo needs you!" But Ranma was already shaking his head and backing up, heading to his futon, desperate to get some sleep. It was really late!  
  
"Listen, if this villain of yours comes around bothering me or my friends?. sure, I'll get rid of 'em then. But until that happens, this really isn't my problem. And I'm happy for THAT." Ranma sighed, pulling aside the sheets.  
  
"But. but." Artemis choked, staring after the boy, still kneeling on the floor, and looking a bit lost.  
  
"If ya don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep now, so could ya leave?" Ranma asked, slipping back into bed. Artemis stood, frowning deeply. Well. This hadn't gone over as well as he had hoped. What a terrible turn of events!  
  
"I think you're making a big mistake." He said, in case Ranma had just been overlooking that possibility.  
  
"Maybe," Ranma agreed, his voice muffled and tired as he happily snuggled back into his covers. His father had turned onto his side and wasn't snoring anymore! Yes!  
  
"Ugh!" Artemis growled, spinning on his heel and exiting back through the wall, sparks of silver light flashing in his wake as he stormed out. Ranma snorted disdainfully as he let sleep overtake him. Wacko.  
  
*  
  
"Akane!" Kasumi called, as bright rays of early morning light drifted into the living room. The pretty nineteen year old stood at the bottom of the steps, cupping her mouth as she called up to her youngest sister, already decked out in her usual skirt and apron. Another Saturday, another wonderful dinner she had to begin to prepare for the family! Not to mention she had just acquired from Luna a new highly multifaceted and complex mini compact that was a central processing unit in disguise, and could be used to trace and delineate the latest yoma that hassled the scout team, of which she had to begin to master! Wow. she seemed to be picking up on this whole Scout Of Wisdom thing pretty quick! Why, come to think of it, just the other day, she had dismantled a sophisticated timer on a small nuclear device that had been attached to air force one!! Oh. Wait. No, that had been Mel Gibson in that cop flick she had watched the other night. But she had repaired Mr. Tekura's transmission, and she hadn't ever been able to do THAT before. "Could you come here?"  
  
"Yes, Kasumi-oneechan?" Akane replied, trotting down the stairs, her hair still slightly damp from her shower. She had been working out all morning, and found she was also exercising her new scout strengths. Suddenly, she seemed to be a lot more agile, and faster than she remembered being before. New, difficult katas she had watched Ranma perform were coming to her with more ease, and she was advancing faster than she ever had in two years, within the span of a few short days. It was incredibly exiting, if not a little disturbing at the same time, and she REALLY wanted to show off to Ranma! However, her self-control had been incessantly reminding her that this COULD possibly ruin her cover, and she would just have to save that ego trip for later. Sailor duties came first! Oh my God, had she just really thought that?  
  
"Akane, I need you to go into town and pick up some things for me for dinner. I would go myself, but I really need to get in some cleaning, and I just can't seem to fit shopping into my schedule." the woman apologized.  
  
"You don't need to ask twice Kasumi, it's no problem! I have no other plans," Akane said, heading for the coat rack.  
  
"Oh, good! I have a list here and-Oh, my. It's a bit long. I feel bad making you go out all alone with so much to buy!." Kasumi fretted, as Akane shook her head and slid her jacket on. "Oh! I know. Ranma! Would you mind terribly going into town with Akane for me and getting some things for dinner?"  
  
"Um!" Ranma said, looking up from the latest training manual he had sneaked from Happi's room. "Er." he glanced up at Akane, who was, at least, looking equally as awkward as he was. Ranma still hadn't said much to Akane since the, um, er, kiss. on the roof the other night, and was still a little cautious about spending too much one on one time with the girl. Akane didn't seem to be too eager to be caught alone with Ranma either, afraid that it would lead to less than comfortable confrontations she wouldn't know how to approach. Best to let things stir, as they usually did in Nerima.  
  
"Well." Akane sighed, tugging her on her hair, wanting to tell Kasumi that she would be fine alone, but not able to get it out.  
  
"Oh, good! We wouldn't want Akane to be lonely! Here's your jacket Ranma-san, and take your time. I don't need these supplies until a bit later anyway!" Kasumi said, thrusting Ranma's jacket into his hands, and waving to the couple as she quickly slipped into the kitchen. Ranma stared dumbly at his jacket for a second, Akane still nervously glaring at her feet in the doorway, before shrugging helplessly and putting the jacket on, joining his fiancée.  
  
"Well. I guess we should go," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  
  
"Yeah. DEFINITLY." Akane agreed completely, not so sure why she put such an emphasis on that 'definitely', or why she felt so compelled to agree with Ranma. She was acting like an awkward schoolgirl! Never mind the fact that she WAS, but Akane the violent tomboy would not sink to the level of a lovesick little girl!. Not that she was. sick. with love. or anything. 'Ahhhh!'  
  
"Um, so, where to first?" Ranma asked, as they made their way towards town, large, family houses slowly converting to delis and clothing stores, big lawns being replaced by food stands, and the streets suddenly filling with people.  
  
"Well, I guess we should go to the supermarket first. Kasumi needs some broccoli and asparagus." She said, reading off the list. "Um, and maybe we should leave the butchers for last."  
  
"Sure," And so the two walked in a rather companionable silence, acknowledging the fact that something was amiss in their daily routine, the fact that Ranma hadn't said something rude, and Akane hadn't try to punch his face in, more than enough proof, but simply choosing to ignore it.  
  
The supermarket was filled with tons of bustling Nerima citizens, all who got wary looks in their eyes and stayed a good 200 feet away from the couple as they entered, not unlike a fire truck. This could get messy.why were they acting so. nice?  
  
"What do you think of this one?" Ranma asked, picking up a perfectly normal looking broccoli, and showing it to Akane, for the final seal of approval.  
  
"Umm." she said, pointing to a rather incriminating brown spot on the broccoli. Ewww, rot.  
  
"Oh. Right. Well. what about that one?" Ranma said, quickly retrieving a new broccoli, and all the while asking himself why he was so worried about it.  
  
"Er, doesn't it seem too dried out?" Akane said, for the first time in her life trying not to sound accusing around the boy. Just. take it slow.  
  
"This one?" he asked, picking up a new vegetable, and briefly wondering why he was asking Akane, the Kitchen Destroyer, for advice on healthy looking food.  
  
"Sure," she conceded. "That looks fine,"  
  
"Yeah, it does look pretty good, doesn't it?" Ranma added, admiring the pure green food.  
  
"A good broccoli if I've ever seen one,"  
  
"I'll say." The two stood there for a second, shaking their heads, and staring at the broccoli. ye gads, what had they been reduced to?  
  
"Ranma!-"  
  
"Akane!-" They both started at the same time, no longer able to control their pent up frustration. This wasn't working dammit! They couldn't act as though nothing had happened! And they couldn't pretend as though they should just go about their daily lives as was normal! They had KISSED, and it had been a MUTUAL one! That was like, a first in the history of Nerima, period!  
  
"You go first," Akane was quick to say.  
  
"Listen, 'Kane." Ranma started, rubbing the back of his head. "About the other night."  
  
"Which night?" Akane asked, just to be difficult, really.  
  
"YOU know what night!" Ranma growled. He'd be damned if she'd already forgotten!  
  
"Ohhh, 'that' night." She said, sagely, deciding the 'night' definitely deserved its own new set of quotation marks.  
  
"I. I'm sorry. If I came on too strong, or anything. Really. I am! Except. I'm not. And I'm not because-"  
  
"Ranma!" Akane hushed, putting a hand on his shoulder to silence him, and staring off into the distance, her eyes wide and shining.  
  
"Hu?" Ranma asked, a little peeved at being cut off during what he thought was one of his more daring conversations with the girl.  
  
"That. that woman!" she whispered, stepping past the boy, dropping the broccoli casually back into its box, (Ranma sucking in a breath of pain,) and watching as a pretty blonde past through the street, observed by the provisional scout through the super market doors.  
  
"What woman?" Ranma asked, after Ritsuko had passed. Akane turned to look at the boy, and almost immediately realized that this was probably a scout thing. She highly doubted that Ranma had just felt that cold rush of air that was a bad vibe, passing through her bones, as that blond had walked by. who was she? Why did she feel so evil? It was. overwhelming, and Akane had a feeling she needed to look into this one.  
  
"Um. I'll be right back." Akane murmured, rushing forward, and out the doors.  
  
"HEY! Hey Akane! Wait up!" Ranma yelled, running after the blue haired girl as she began to give chase to Ritsuko.  
  
*  
  
Deep under Crown Arcades, in the Scout's secret base, Luna sat in a large desk chair, leaning over a computer, and watching as statistics from the negative vibes around town flew across the screen. She had been trying to track down Ritsuko using this method of observing bad vibes, in hopes of Ritsuko eventually becoming the epicenter of them. Now, finally she thought she might have a lead.  
  
"Artemis! Come here!" she called to her partner. The pure white cat glanced up from the textbook he was tearing through, still in a foul mood from his counterproductive encounter with Ranma Saotome. That child was intolerable! Of course he hadn't told Luna about any of this. Going against her word was bad enough, but going against her word and then FAILING? Miserably, to boot? Best to keep this one on the hush-hush.  
  
"Yeah?" he said, grouchily, and wandering over to the desk. Hopping up and looking over at the screen, he glanced over what Luna was carefully monitoring.  
  
"Look, Artemis! That collection of negative energy, near the shopping district! It looks as though someone is performing a powerful spell of sorts! That whirlpool of energy is the only explanation!" Luna said, her paw landing on said energy. Artemis' eyes widened.  
  
"No kidding! Do you think it's Ritsuko?" he asked, cautiously. He REALLY didn't want it to be. Ritsuko could be quite cruel and sadistic when she needed to be. And considering her latest losses, he glanced over at the black opal ring sitting innocently on the table next to them. she needed to be.  
  
"I don't know yet, I'm trying to get a fix on the exact type of energy it is, so then maybe I can disconcert what spell we're dealing with here, and get a better idea of the problem." Luna said, as Artemis nodded. Ahh. mixing magic with technology had been a brilliant idea.  
  
"Hmm." Artemis murmured, as Luna rapidly typed a lot of complicated looking commands in. "It's definitely a heavy duty spell. used to cover lots of area. possibly all of Tokyo!"  
  
"Quite, and look at this pattern! It's ancient!"  
  
"Yes. and it's the pattern that bothers me. I recognize it. I would only recognize it if I've read it in one of my books. and that's rarely a good sign." Artemis admitted.  
  
"Can you look it up?" Luna asked, not even glancing at her partner as she continued to type away. Damn she was fast for having no opposable thumbs!  
  
"Gimme a sec." And he was off.  
  
*  
  
"Akane! Akane where are you going?" Ranma asked, grabbing onto his fiancées jacket as she wound her way around the crowds of people in the street.  
  
"I-I saw somebody I know! From . summer camp!"  
  
"But you don't go to summer camp!"  
  
"ER!- I USED to! Before you came!"  
  
"Oh."  
  
'I'm loosing that bad vibe. but I can't let that woman go! I have this feeling in my stomach. like I need to find her.' suddenly the girl picked something up, a definitely bad feeling that made her insides churn uncomfortably. It was coming from the nearby alley, a dark area that suddenly had a very ominous feeling to it.. Akane quickly did a 90 degree turn and dashed towards it, Ranma still holding onto her.  
  
"Akane! I really don't think your friend is in that alley!" He was getting the impression his friend was loosing it. Hold it, had he just called her 'friend'? Well. she was. Come to think of it. Yeah, she definitely was.  
  
"No, I think I saw her enter here!" she assured him, keeping her eyes peeled as she walked into the dank alley, a terrible smell attacking her senses. She had to keep in mind how potentially dangerous this could be.  
  
"What's that stench?" Ranma asked, holding his nose, and letting go of Akane's jeans jacket so he could further investigate the barren alley. "It smells like burning-"  
  
"Eeeekkkk!!!" Akane screamed, zipping behind her brave and strong fiancée, holding her mouth and shutting her eyes.  
  
".flesh." Ranma finished, his face turning green, and his eyes widening. Okay, so maybe the alley WASN'T so barren. On the ground, but a few feet away, what Ranma had first assumed to be a dirty pile of rags, was really a dirty pile of people! Three people, to be exact, their faces distorted, dried out, and mummified, limbs stuck out at odd, imposing angles. The smell of their rotting flesh seemed recent, from what the martial artist could tell. "They look like that bad broccoli!" Ranma groaned, backing up.  
  
"Ranmmaaa." Akane mumbled into his back, fists clenched in front of her. That was so gross! How could he be so crude?  
  
"They look really mummified, though." At that Akane's deep brown eyes shot open, and she bit her lip. 'Just the other day, five mummified boys were found dead in the gymnasium of the high school with think Ritsuko might currently be attending,'. that's what Artemis had said! Did this mean Ritsuko was to blame for this less than pleasant attack?  
  
Suddenly, Akane felt that cold, bad vibe again, and her head snapped up, as Ranma was trying to lead her out of the alley. Just stepping off the fire escape attached to the building next to them, Akane swore she saw a girl, and a flash of blond hair. that girl from outside the super market! These boys! Could she be. Ritsuko?  
  
'I can't let her go.' Akane decided.  
  
"Akane? Oh, for Christ's sake! What the hell are ya doing now?" Ranma said, watching as the small girl began to determinedly make her way up the rusty looking fire escape. "Where are you going!" he called up to her.  
  
"I. just saw my camp friend again! Up here!" Akane explained.  
  
".You know, I'm not THAT dumb," When Akane didn't say anything more, Ranma heaved a heavy sigh, and quickly began to follow her, once again, trotting up the fire escape, and deciding he would just have to make her pay later.  
  
'If I nab this Ritsuko now, all of our scout troubles will be over, and I can get back to my homework!' Akane thought joyfully, as she reached the top of the building.  
  
*  
  
"Luna!!" Artemis cried, running up to the female cat, sounding distressed.  
  
"What is it Art? I'm a bit busy at the moment. these vibes are getting more powerful all the time! It's as if the caster of the spell is gaining more energy!" Luna explained, eyes glued to the computer screen, a worried frown on her face.  
  
"It is important! I just figured out what spell that is, based on its magical pattern! It's all right here in this book!" Artemis said, pointing to the large book of 'Disgusting Curses And Equally As Unpleasant Spells', By Witchy McWitch. Luna winced. This didn't bode well.  
  
"Well, what spell is it?" Luna inquired.  
  
"Here," Artemis said, opening the book and pointing to a rather long paragraph. "I can't believe she's casting this spell, it's so old! And no one has used it for years because of its. unconventional. effects. that tend to be less than useful for the caster, in any case. Still, if it's Ritsuko, and I'm pretty positive it is, she must have her reasons." Luna read the paragraph, and the name of the spell, with her jaw hanging open.  
  
"Oh my God Artemis. if she casts this over all of Tokyo. we have to stop her! We have to go, now! We can't let her cast the Plague Of-"  
  
*  
  
"-Insanity." Ukyo sighed, scrubbing one dish especially hard, and throwing it onto the already gigantic pile next to her. "That's what this is, insanity." The young chef hadn't known he had it in him, but Kontsastu had a pretty big mean streak. making her do all of the Uchan's dishes ALONE that night, (It wouldn't have been SO bad if it hadn't been a Saturday night!! Their biggest crowd was on Saturday night!) was enough proof. She had thought that the cross dressing ninja would have been so smitten with her he wouldn't have wanted his lovely Goddess of Okanamiyaki go through such torture all by her lonesome!- but.she had been wrong. This was payback for leaving him to manage the restaurant by himself those times she was doing the Sailor Scout thing. It wasn't as if she could have HELPED it!  
  
'But he doesn't know that.' Ukyo admitted, sighing. 'He probably thinks I ditched him to go see Ranma. Which is what I would have preferred to have been doing. Honestly.' She groaned aloud and rubbed her head with the back of her hand, still managing to get soapsuds all over her forehead. Worst part was, she had let all of the dishes sit because she was too tired after the super secret Scout meeting and her homework and what not, last night. and now all of the food was practically permanently cemented onto the plates. Time to work those arm muscles!  
  
Tingalingaling!  
  
"Hello?" Ukyo said, sticking her head out of the kitchen to see who had entered the shop. "I'm sorry sir, but we're not open until- oh! Ryoga!" Ukyo said, coming completely out of the kitchen now, and eagerly peeling off her rubber gloves. Any excuse to ditch dish washing for a while!  
  
"Hey," the lost boy said, offering a small smile, and freezing up slightly as Ukyo gave him a friendly welcoming hug. No! No nosebleeds! Stop it!  
  
"What can I do for you, sugar?" the pretty girl said, leaning away from Ryoga, and raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Actually, I had stopped by for a bite to eat. but if you're not open, I don't want to impose," Ryoga admitted.  
  
"Hey, don't worry about it, I'm sure I can whip you something up quick enough!" Ukyo said, zipping over to the grill with lightning speed. 'It's not procrastinating! I'm feeding a hungry friend! It's not procrastinating! I'm feeding a hungry-'  
  
Ryoga came to sit on a barstool, Ukyo happily humming as she cooked. After a few minutes of silence on Ryoga's part. Ukyo noticed he was looking sort of down in the dumps. She frowned lightly.  
  
"What's on your mind?" she asked, casually.  
  
". Not much." Ryoga admitted. "Just one girl."  
  
"Akane?" Ukyo said, making a total shot in the dark here.  
  
"Yeah," the big guy sighed, resting his face in his hands. "She. last night. all she could talk about was Ranma," Ukyo faltered when trying to flip her okanamiyaki, biting her lip.  
  
"She talked to you about Ran-chan?" she asked, dangerously quiet.  
  
"Yeah. she talked to me about 'Ran-chan,'" Ryoga said, dully. "But, I was 'P-chan' at the time," Ryoga knew just about everyone else on the planet besides Akane herself had realized just who P-chan was, and discovered it was no use hiding it. Ukyo gave of a rye smile, sighing. Life was hard for people like them.  
  
"I'm hearing you. she's in love with him, isn't she?" she asked softly. Ryoga looked up, meeting her gaze.  
  
"I think she may be," he admitted. The two shared a moment of heart ache, Ryoga because he felt the loss, and Ukyo because she knew she soon might. She didn't have an false pretences about what the relationship between those two might escalate to. ". At least, she might be. I think something happened, something different, because she just babbled on about him all night. Like. like she had a big crush on him or something," he admitted, sounding rather disgusted.  
  
"'Something different'?"  
  
"Yeah. I think he may have kissed her." Ukyo clenched her fist so hard her spatula began to bend into an inconvenient shape, before she caught herself. It was a bad habit. He had WHAT?  
  
"Reallly?" she asked, her voice a bit too sweet.  
  
"Yeah. and. And I think she liked it," he added, his voice dead. It then occurred to Ukyo that Ryoga didn't sound angry enough about it. He just sounded. depressed, and- OH NO! No!!  
  
"Whoop! Here's your food! Dig in! It's good! Isn't it? Really good!" Ukyo enthused quickly, all but throwing a plate in front of the boy, who was pulsating with a deadly glow, no doubt signaling the beginnings of a dangerous, Shi-shi Hokudan * attack. Damn that Akane! Didn't she know it was a bad idea getting little piggies all depressed?  
  
"Oh. Thanks," Ryoga said, dully.  
  
"Soooo. what ELSE is up? Oh! I know, how's Akari?" Ukyo asked, hopefully. If he blew up her restaurant she would NEVER forgive him!  
  
"I broke up with her." He said, sounding pretty depressed about THAT turn of events, as well.  
  
"Eeep! Umm. Er. you know what?! Ryoga, have you been working out? You look very. buff." she said, mentally smacking her head. No DUH he looked buff, he was probably one of the best martial artists in the world! Well, at least, he was almost as good as Ran-chan. And that meant SOMETHING!  
  
"Really?" Ryoga asked, perking up, even if it was just a little.  
  
"Yeah!" Ukyo practically shrieked. "And. your hair! Did you do something to your hair?"  
  
"Well, no," Ryoga said, patting said hair, which was partially covered by a bandana.  
  
"You didn't? Well it looks like you got it professionally styled or something! It's great!"  
  
"Gee. thanks." Ryoga said, Ukyo sighing in relief when his sorrowful aura began to die down. All he needed was some complimenting, and he was harmless! "You know. you don't look so bad yourself Ukyo. Have YOU been working out?" Ryoga asked, looking at his friend in a whole new light. There was definitely something very different about the girl, he noticed. Her aura was all. stronger, more vibrant. Powerful. How did that happen?  
  
Realizing he wasn't just talking about her muscles, and had most likely observed the change in her very essence, being a Scout and all, Ukyo bit her lip, and twiddled her thumbs.  
  
"Um, well, yes. I've been. training. With. Shampoo!" she said, finally. Boy, talking to this man was stressful stuff!  
  
"Shampoo, hu? That's good," Ryoga said, nodding. Shampoo WAS a better fighter than Ukyo. but, something a little more dramatic than just training had happened to Ukyo, and he knew it. Still, if she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't pry. He stared down at his plate, quietly, and Ukyo quickly got to worrying again.  
  
"Hey. Hey Ryoga.Are you sure you're all right?" she asked, leaning down close to Ryoga, so that their faces were quite close. Ryoga looked up into her green eyes, his expression thoughtful. He had never noticed it, but Ukyo was pretty attractive.  
  
"Yeah. I think I'll be just fine." he admitted.  
  
"Oh." Ukyo said, realizing that he had this sort of glazed over look in his eyes, and was staring at her funny. Hey. he had a pretty cute face, come to think of it. "So you didn't want anything?"  
  
"Actually." Ryoga looked back down at his plate, biting his lip. "I wondered if I could have seconds?" Ukyo rolled her eyes and backed away, heading over to the grill. Was THAT all he had to say? He was just as bad as Ran-chan!  
  
"Ah-!" Ukyo gasped, dropping her already slightly bent spatula, and staring out the window, as she neared the grill.  
  
"Ukyo?" Ryoga asked, concern coating his voice.  
  
"There's. something. something is coming," she said, her senses extending out of the Uchan, and towards a very real evil that was quickly spreading. infecting.oh no. "Something's coming!"  
  
"What's coming?" Ryoga said, getting to his feet and staring out the window. He didn't see anything. "What are you talking about?" Realizing he couldn't feel the evil like she could, Ukyo settled for hugging herself tightly, and shivering. What was going on out there? Why did she get this really bad feeling..?  
  
"What should I do?"  
  
*  
  
"Akane, you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do," Ranma said, pulling himself onto the roof, and feeling a cold gust of air hit him. ".Akane?" he asked.  
  
"Shhh!" the girl said, grabbing the boy by the hood of his windbreaker, and pulling him down behind a satellite dish next to her.  
  
"Erk!" he coughed, holding his throat. Damn she was strong!  
  
"Look!" Akane whispered fiercely, pointing to something a few yards away from the couple.  
  
"Whoa." Ranma commented. Centered on the roof, a large dome of crackling purple energy surrounded a woman with long blond hair held in a low ponytail. She had her hands clasped in an odd position in front of her, and seemed to be reciting something very quickly, and in another language. Akane couldn't really pick any of the words up, but waves of evil and twisted aura were rolling off the woman's body, and from the looks of it, even Ranma could tell this chick was bad news. Above her, sparkling purple energy was collecting in a sort of spiral formation. Akane narrowed her eyes. Okay. So, if this really was Ritsuko, what was she supposed to do now? Charge forward shouting something akin to 'Stop, in the name of the MOON!' Hmm. she didn't think it was going to have a substantial impact on the woman at this point.  
  
"What's going on?" Ranma whispered back, his brows furrowed together. "What is she trying to do?"  
  
"I don't know," Akane admitted.  
  
"This isn't your camp friend, is it?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Just checking." Ranma said, rubbing the back of his head. "But, seriously, I've got a bad feeling about this woman. Maybe we should just go."  
  
"And let her get away with this?!"  
  
"Away with what?" he croaked, throwing his arms up.  
  
"I don't know. her. her EVILNESS!" Akane said, making scary looking claws with her hands.  
  
"Oh. well. You're right then, we better stick around," Ranma said, sarcastically. "Listen, for all we know, she could be an innocent WICCA member, simply practicing her religion!" Just then, however, the spiral of power made an ominous 'VOOSH' ing sound, and shot up heavenwards, lighting up the entire morning sky with a sickly maroon color. The two martial artists gasped, realizing that this was most likely another bad sign. "Okay. or not."  
  
Akane felt her head become dizzy with all of the negative vibes swirling around her, encouraging her to get her butt into gear before things got out of hand. However. how could she transform and save the day with Ranma right there, watching? She wasn't supposed to reveal her powers to anyone! Luna had insisted! But. she couldn't think of another possibility just then, she highly doubted she could stop this woman without some major help from Sailor Moon's tiara.  
  
"Ranma," she started, turning to the boy, and deciding to give him fair warning before she ripped out the big guns. However, at that moment, Ritsuko chose to acknowledge the duo's presence.  
  
"Who's there!?" she hissed, her voice echo like and strange. The two froze up, and peaked out from behind their dish, shaking with fear as Ristuko's, now pure purple, eyes, stared back at them, all narrowed like. Ranma gulped.  
  
"Hello there!" he called back, amiably.  
  
"DIE!" Ritsuko let out an unearthly roar. How dare these mortals try to interfere with her plans when she was so close to success! Nothing could go wrong at this point, she wouldn't let it!  
  
"Run away, run away!" Ranma cried, grabbing Akane by the waist and leaping to the side, as a rather formidable ball of purple energy at them. The dish was destroyed in a second, and more than a few people in the building cursed as their Direct T.V connection was lost. Nooo, HBO!  
  
"Ack!" Akane squeaked, covering her head as she was showered by miniscule pieces of satellite dish, and frowning. Okay. it was definitely time to transform. "Ranma, there's something I've been hiding from you!" she admitted to the worried boy next to her.  
  
"NOW you want to talk about it? Akane, I'm thrilled, but this is hardly the time to-"  
  
"No! This is an important secret.important to what we're doing right now!" she sighed, taking out the transforming device that looked suspiciously like a school girly pen, thrusting her arm upwards. "MOON POWER, MAKE UP!" she yelled, feeling pretty damn stupid, and positive Ranma was doing some major eyebrow raising at this point. However, all of his doubts about her sanity were put to shame as the girl was wrapped in silver and pink light, ribbons of power surrounded her. Akane let out a gasp as she felt that same tingly feeling of real strength return to her body, and when she was conscious of her surroundings again, she was a kick ass Sailor Scout with a mean looking tiara, to boot.  
  
"." Ranma was speechless. He was also blushing. He could see up her skirt. Look away! Don't be taken into the dark side!  
  
"Listen, I know I should have told you about this secret before," Akane admitted, wringing her hands, and suddenly feeling really small again, even though she was Sailor Moon now. Ranma was giving her a FUNNY look!  
  
"Wait! You're. you're a replacement Scout, right?" Ranma asked, rubbing his head. Oh Jesus, that ghost-like man from the other night! He had told him about this whole Sailor Scout deal. but. Ranma had passed it off as a dream in the morning, hardly dwelling on it. Like he had said, he had his own list of worries to concern himself with. Well, this had just become one of his very own worries. Great.  
  
"How did you know?" Akane gasped, as the two dodged to the side again, just missing getting scalped by a wrathful Ritsuko who was now, besides being angry that her spell was about to gain some major complications, was also pissed off because she was being ignored. By her prey no less!  
  
"YOU! FAKE SAILOR SCOUT! I'LL KILL YOU!" she bellowed, her voice a guttural screech, and making her pretty face look suddenly very repulsive.  
  
"Well, see, this guy came to see me last night! Talked a lot about replacement scouts and evil and how I was supposed to help. he was all tall and ghostly, and I told him to take a hike! I thought he was weird." Ranma admitted sheepishly. "How did YOU get mixed up in this?" he asked, still dashing along the roof, and his tone gaining a hint of steel. Didn't she know she could get seriously hurt fighting demons alone? Cat demons for that matter? Wait. he had licked-!?  
  
"It's a long story, and a lot of other people are 'mixed up' in it to," she said, her voice stating plainly that if Ranma got all protective and macho over this one she would pulverize him. She was starting to warm up to the fact that she could dust yoma's. "And I don't know any ghostly looking men, either. Two talking cats though. Listen, can we talk about this later, I think we should focus on the mad witch, or whatever," she admitted.  
  
"Good idea." The two stopped jogging to check out Ritsuko. To their surprise, she had stopped firing away, and seemed to have reached a new peak in her spell. Her body twitched ominously, and thunder cracked in the distance. The super hero with the high heeled boots and the martial artist with the pig tail soon found their hair standing on end, thinking about how it wasn't wise to stand on a roof when there was lighting crackling in an all too lively way just above you.  
  
"Hey, you, stop!" Ranma shouted at Ritsuko, and feeling more than a little fed up. Could his day get any weirder?  
  
"Her name is Ritsuko," Akane supplied. Yes. Yes it could.  
  
"Oh. ok." No need to ask how she knew that. She could deal with his wariness about this whole Sailor Moon idea, later. "Ritsuko, cut it out!" But the woman didn't listen to them, and suddenly streams of deep purple energy were shooting out of her protective dome, going in all directions around Nerima. Akane hissed in pain as one slashed her arm. What were these things? They stung like all hell, and there seemed to be a deadly purpose to them.  
  
"We've got to stop her Ranma!" she cried.  
  
"I know!" he said, shielding his eyes from the flying debris and overwhelmingly bright power. Akane put one hand up to her tiara, as Ranma experimentally rammed himself into the dome, only to find that it was as hard as a rock, and Ritsuko wasn't even aware of his actions. As Sailor Moon, she couldn't allow this to go on. She had promised Luna she would help protect the people of Earth, and she was pretty sure this qualified as one of those times where she had to stick to that promise. Removing her tiara, she let the words come to her.  
  
"MOOON, TIARAAA. ACTION!" she said, hurling the now frisbee like tiara at the dome, Ranma watching her with his mouth hanging open as he felt something powerful fly by his right ear. Wowzers.  
  
The tiara didn't have as much effect on the dome as Akane would have preferred it to, but it did make a healthy looking hole. big enough to climb through. Her tiara returning to her hand, not unlike Xena's thingamajig, (You know, that's a real word.) she leaped for the hole, hurling herself through it, since it seemed to be repairing itself as she thought. Not even hesitating, Ranma followed.  
  
"How did ya DO that 'Kane?" he squawked, looking, through it all, mildly impressed. "You have to teach me that trick one day!"  
  
"Er. I don't think it's one of those teachable attacks," the girl admitted.  
  
"You just don't want me to be able to do it!" he protested, accusingly.  
  
"No I DON'T, you big jerk!" she shot back, face going red. "You just need a-"  
  
"Ahem." Both heads quickly snapped to the side, where they came face to face with a less than pleased look Ritsuko, her body still radiating that deathly looking, purple glow, blond hair drifting around her head. "I really don't like the fact that you two have broken into my force field. What's more, I don't like you. When the time of infection comes, you will not be saved. Not if I have anything to say about it. Now leave, IMPOSTER scout!" she spat, making a move with her claw like hands as to push Akane out of the force field, while the girl was stunned by the fact that the woman's sentence made no sense, and was surprised to be stopped in mid swing by that mortal boy with the scout. "Let go!" she ordered, trying to push him away as well. Still having her fisted hand in his own, Ranma's eyes darkened, threateningly. This woman had just tried to punch Akane! Squeezing his hand tight, Ritsuko gawked as she felt Ranma start to break her knuckles. It wasn't as though it hurt, it was just surprising he could do it to her immortal body! Just who was this kid, anyway.  
  
"I wouldn't try that if I were you," he suggested, his voice casual, his eyes anything but. It wasn't everyday Ranma hurt a woman, but luckily, in this case, his gut was telling him she probably wasn't a real woman, anyway.  
  
"Fool," she cried, wrenching her hand away, and inconspicuously cradling it when she thought they weren't paying attention. And, in truth, they weren't, for, at that moment, the world around them as they new it began to explode with blotches of black, shaking the ground, and causing the sky to drip away. The spell was now officially in effect. It felt as though everything was upside down for a moment, the landscape covered in a sickly color that consumed all and spared nothing, the only light in the world was seemingly the bright purple bubble that surrounded the grim trio. A gurgling sound and the hint of a young man's twisted laughter echoed somewhere off in the distance. Ritsuko nodded her head in response, pleased he had done her bidding.  
  
And when Ranma and Akane blinked, everything was back to normal, the sky was back, the buildings were back and everything was safely placed right side up again. The only thing remaining the uneasy and sickly feeling in their stomachs. The feeling that told them things certainly were NOT back to normal and peachy.  
  
"What happened!" Akane choked out, rounding on Ritsuko. The woman laughed, throwing her head back and letting out genuine peels of laughter.  
  
"It's quite funny, actually," she admitted, still chuckling lightly. Her face abruptly went back to its cold, I-have-something-painful-stuck-up- my-ass look, and it seemed as though a rather unpleasant factor had just popped up, and it had. "Except for the part where you two are unaffected. You shouldn't have broken into my dome like that, your lives might have been spared if you had just stayed out of this." she admitted, snapping her fingers, and letting the dome zip into nothingness around them. It was like being brought back into reality. only. Ritsuko wasn't supposed to still be there. Ranma shook his head, confusion and anger welling up so strong it finally needed a place to vent from. His fists looked like a fine spot as any!  
  
"I don't know what you're up to, but if you're going to threaten my life, you better have the power to back it up, witch!" he declared, racing forward, with his arm outstretched, caught up in the panic of the moment. Akane put a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. Uh oh.  
  
Ritsuko nimbly jumped into the air, where she stayed, looking highly amused. Ranma angrily cocked his head back to stare at her. How was she so fast?  
  
"You know. I don't think I'm going to kill you two just yet," she decided, quite suddenly, folding her arms, and levitating a good five yards from the ground. "I think I'll let you run loose for a while. watch you squirm. It'll be entertaining," she supplied, by way of explanation. Ranma and Akane traded worried and pretty P.Oed looks.  
  
"Wrong. I don't think I'm going to let you get away Ritsuko! You days of unleashing evil upon our innocent city are over!" Ranma watched in fascination as his fiancée performed a long series of delicate, artful looking hand movements. They were very pretty, his only question was. why? "In the name of peace, I will punish you!" she finished. However, by that point, Ritsuko had burst into more whoops of real laughter, and disappeared with a goodbye flash of light.  
  
". I just let her get away, did I?"  
  
"Uh hu. Akane, say, what was that all about?"  
  
"I. don't. know. It was terrible Ranma! I couldn't stop it! My arms were moving on their own and I wasn't even conscious of what I was saying! Why is this HAPPENING? OH GOD, WHY?"  
  
".It'll be okay. In any case, what do you think happened before. You know, with the impending doomy feeling and the black covering the sky, the thunder."  
  
"No clue. Do you think. do you think she hurt anyone?" Akane asked, cautiously.  
  
"I don't know. I mean, she did have her own force field up to protect her from whatever spell she was casting , so .it's possible." He acknowledged. The two simultaneously glanced towards the edge of the roof, knowing their technically should be hundreds of people below them, and hesitant to see if anything had happened to them.  
  
Eventually, their curiosity got the better of them, and even though Sailor Akane made sure Ranma had to go first, because he had a stronger stomach than she did, they found themselves gazing out into the streets below.  
  
"Hm. everything seems cool," Ranma mentioned. Where had had assumed he would have to witness the site of thousands of mutilated and disemboweled bodies, he saw only the normal, if not chaotically bustling, streets of shopping district. No change there.  
  
"Maybe we should go back down. see what's up. People must have at least NOTICED what happened. It was pretty hard not to." Akane pointed out.  
  
"Okay, good plan," Akane didn't have time to happily dwell over the fact that he had just complimented her, because soon they were trotting back down the fire escape, keeping a wary eye out for demons and the like, ready to spring at them from the shadows. none did. It was sort of a disappointment though, seeing as how ready they were to defend themselves and all.  
  
Quietly stepping out into the street, the first person Ranma and Akane spotted was a mailman. Everyone else seemed to be rushing around them, crazy with shopping frenzy, but the mailman was carefully inspecting a package in his hand, right across the street, in front of the disgustingly overpriced cafe.  
  
"Why don't we ask him if he noticed anything out of the ordinary?" Ranma offered.  
  
"Do you really think I should let people see me like this?" Akane wondered, pulling at her outfit.  
  
"No one's noticed you yet!"  
  
"Good point." Indeed, no one was even glancing at them. So they moseyed over to the mailman, Ranma tapping him on the shoulder, a pleasant smile on his face.  
  
"Hello, sir?" he asked. The mailman turned around, package still firmly grasped close to him. "We were just wondering if you had noticed anything odd, a minute ago. Possibly. a world wide black out? Lots of evil looking purple stuff shooting out everywhere?" The mailman stared at Ranma blankly, and the boy got the distinct impression that no one was home as the older guy looked up at him silently for a more extended period of time. "Er." Then, without warning, the mailman raised his arms above his head and violently chucked his package (which was a lot heavier than it looked.) at Akane's neck.  
  
"ACK!" she choked, grasping her neck and doubling over.  
  
"What the hell was that for?!" Ranma demanded of the obviously less than stable mailman. When he received no answer, Ranma, eyes nearly crossed with anger, grabbed the puny little jerk by his collar and lifted him up off the ground. "Hu? What's up with you!?" Ranma demanded to know.  
  
"Ranma, put him down," Akane gasped. "I don't look like myself, maybe there was some sort of mista-,"  
  
"Unhand me, don't touch me! You're like an anorchous caseate!*" the mail man got out, in a very thick British accent.  
  
"Eh?" the couple asked, staring blankly up at the forty year old, whose feet still were only grazing the ground, thanks to Ranma.  
  
"And I think I shall take Mary Lou with me, and I don't care what you think of her. Mary Lou is beautiful. don't insult her! You dirty, LOVE NAZI!" he cried, twisting and squirming, trying to get out of Ranma's strong grip. Plainly out of bewilderment, Ranma dropped the guy, watching as he grabbed his mail and stormed out of sight, leaving Akane and Ranma to wonder just what species of animal they had been dealing with there.  
  
"Someone forget to take their Prozac, or what?" Akane said, shaking her head. That had been weird, even for Nerima.  
  
"Um. Akane." Ranma said softly, as if afraid to disturb something.  
  
"Hu?" she asked, still rubbing her neck.  
  
"Look over there." He directed her to glance across the street, where it suddenly dawned upon Akane that those bustling consumers weren't on a shopping frenzy. but just a frenzy!  
  
Everywhere people dashed about, shouting random phrases, dancing in the streets, a whole group of them were squawking like chickens and even more crawling along the ground, while gnawing at their shoulders. Trying to lick their elbows. Crashing their cars. Even the street lights seemed to have gone a little haywire.  
  
All in all, they were astonished they hadn't noticed any of it before.  
  
An elderly lady dashed up to Akane, throwing her walker into a near by dumpster, and kneeled in front of the Scout. Quickly, she wrapped her thin, wrinkly arms around the girls thighs.  
  
"MARRY ME!" she shrieked, in her old, high pitched rasp. "Please, baby, I'll do anything!"  
  
"Hands off, granny!" Ranma said, snatching the shocked girl away.  
  
"Oh, Ranma, I'm so flattered you're jealous." Akane said, putting a hand to her mouth, in an effort to hide the fact that she was terribly flabbergasted. A geriatric woman had just asked her to MARRY her! What was the world COMING to?  
  
"Akane, you know what this means, don't you?" Ranma asked, in all seriousness.  
  
"The entire shopping district as gone berserk?"  
  
"No shit, Sherlock! I was referring more to that Ritsuko woman's spell! No, curse! SHE did this, and the only reason we weren't affected was because we were with her when it was cast! That's why she thought letting us run loose for a while would be a good laugh! Why she wanted to see us 'squirm!'" he explained, taking her by the shoulders. Akane paled.  
  
"You're RIGHT," she gasped, as if that were the surprising part.  
  
"We have to fix this," he reminded her.  
  
"I know," she said, frowning. "It's my duty, technically."  
  
"And because we're the possibly only sane ones left, it's our responsibility now. To everyone," Ranma added.  
  
"Do you think it's spread that far? Are we really the only ones left who can think straight?"  
  
"We can't be sure." He sighed, really wishing they weren't. Not many actually considered them really SANE, anyway He wasn't sure what to do! How were they supposed to cure this . disease that everyone had become infected with? And how were they going to find Ritsuko? For that matter why had she done any of this? For a good laugh? Watch the mortals roll around and make odd noises? Hmmm. as he pondered life's many questions, and ducked a bit as a woman hurled herself over his head, he noticed that Akane was jogging away from him, and towards a little black something at the end of the street. He squinted, trying to get a better look at it.  
  
"CAT!" he gurgled, jumping behind a lamppost and covering his head, all of his survival instincts encouraging him to curl up into fetal position and to rock back and forth.  
  
"Luna!" Akane said, nearly sobbing with relief. "Thank God you found me! I'm so worried! What's going on? How can I stop it? Are the others all right?" she asked, almost all in one breath, kneeling down next to the cat, and waiting with bated breath for her answer. Luna would know what to do. Luna always had an answer! But the cat only looked pained, ears flattening against her head. Her only bit of wisdom for the day was-  
  
"Meow! Meow meow meowwww.meow!" Akane paled, and her throat closed up.  
  
Awww shit.  
  
  
  
*  
  
*Anorchous caseate- In the deliciously old and lost English language, this meant a man whose flesh has been diseased and converted to a cheesy appearance, and, in addition, has no testicles. I love it. I'll be using a lot of really gross words like this in the next chapter.  
  
*  
  
Author's notes:  
  
I planned to have this out sooner, but I'm having funny writer's block. Sorry for Ranma and Akane's OOCness, I'm taking a lot of liberties with them, and I'm aware of it. Please review, because the insanity continues in the next chapter: Chapter Six: The Plague Part 2. And if you review, you get to read it a lot sooner.  
  
Rio Grande.  
  
P.S- To those of you who don't really give a flying crap about Ranma and Akane, and want to see more of the other characters. to this I am sorry to. I have been ignoring them a bit, and they're sort of weird in the next chapter. But then they come back, and we're all happy. YAAAAAYY! 


	7. Plagued Part Two

Hey all, sorry this chapter took so long to come out. but I really needed to get my Spirited Away fic done because so many nice people were reviewing, and then I was all like, I really enjoy writing my Cowboy Bebop fan-fiction, so I did that, and then I really needed to work on my Inuyasha fic which I hadn't updated in forever and a day, and then- Well. You get the idea. Bottom line: I'm an idiot who shouldn't have started so many bad fics in the first place. Oh, wellll.  
  
It's in the next couple o' chapters that we really start to see big, (neon almost) signs of the fact that, yes, this IS an R/A fic, when it comes right down to it. I hope everyone is cool with that , no Ryoga and Akane fans, or, more likely Ranma and someone else fans, who are really pissed off. ANYWHO, I don't own Ranma ½ or Sailor Moon (I'm actually thinking of starting a NEW fic just about Sailor Moon . but then again, I DO have some pride left, surprisingly enough, so maybe not. But it's SUCH good IDEAAA.) and enjoy!  
  
*  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Chapter Six: Plagued (Part Two)  
  
*  
  
"Nooooooo!" Akane all but sobbed into her arms, unceremoniously dropping the (TOTALLY illiterate!) cat to the ground. "Why why whyyyyy??? You're a CAT Luna! This spell shouldn't AFFECT you!" she cried.  
  
"Meow!" the cat howled, getting to its feet and swiping at Akane's arm in an effort to bring her back to the problem at hand.  
  
"Hu?" Akane sniffed, after a brief moment of contemplating the unreasonably attractive option of just ending it all.  
  
"Meoooww," Luna explained in a desperate tone of voice, looking quite distressed. Akane narrowed her eyes suspiciously as the cat continued on. Luna was making some pretty sophisticated hand gestures/facial expressions for an ordinary animal, there. Maybe.  
  
"WAIT! I've got it!" the girl said suddenly, getting onto her knees, and looking Luna in the eye. "You've lost your ability to SPEAK, but not your ability to THINK!"  
  
"Meow!" Luna praised.  
  
"Well, that's something!" Akane decided, lifting Luna up once more, and trotting back over to Ranma. who was still hiding behind the lamppost, shaking like a vibrating cell phone on speed. Akane knew enough to stop before she reached him. "Ranma!" she called. "I'm holding a cat . but don't worry I wont come near you,"  
  
"Damn straight you won't!"  
  
"Listen! This cat's name is Luna, and she is the Sailor Scout's mentor! However, because of this God awful spell, she's lost the ability to speak. However . I think if we trust her, she can help us out here! We NEED all of the help we can get to save everyone from Ristuko, Ranma," she added softly, seeing the familiar tensing of his back, which more often than not signified he was about to protest against something.  
  
"But." he said, pathetically, sounding utterly crushed. Of all of the talking animals, the Sailor Scouts had to have CATS as teachers. Great.  
  
"No buts, Luna is really smart, and we're not. So we're keeping her." Akane said, firmly.  
  
". This sucks." Ranma sighed, conceding to Akane's wishes anyway.  
  
There was a long, pregnant pause, as both teenagers listened to the distant sounds of animalistic howling and frantic babbling coming from the direction of the mall.  
  
"Would you come out from behind the lamppost now?"  
  
"No!"  
  
It was going to be one of those days.  
  
*  
  
"AAAAAaaaayyyerrrkkkcchhhh." A young man gasped in pain as he breathed his last, dying breath. His shriveled, pitiful form went limp, as Ritsuko released her vice like grip from his head, eyes hungry for more energy as the boy nearly cracked his head open on the way down, already forgotten by his murderer.  
  
"This is so. liberating!" Ritsuko cried, snatching another innocent, mentally deranged bystander, and sucking their energy dry, shivering with pleasure as she felt her own powers reach peaks they hadn't achieved in years. Not since the Scouts came around, at least.  
  
"AACK!" the newest victim howled, more confused than anything else, and hardly putting up a fight as it was sadistically slaughtered. That was the beauty of having pray that wasn't in their right mind. They were so easy to attack, and they hardly put up a fight! At this rate, Ritsuko could turn out to be the worst demon Tokyo had seen in some time. Already her wide eyes were pulsating with a contented, bright purple aura.  
  
"Aren't you just the power slut?" a familiar voice croaked from the shadows. With her back stilled turned, the blond demon rolled her eyes. Just what she needed. Miji.  
  
"What do you want, you pathetic excuse for a monster?" she asked tartly, facing the dark shadow, that was suddenly. more solid than she remembered him being before.  
  
"Oh nothing, I'm just watching you kill all the stupid little humans. It's amusing," he explained, chuckling. Ritsuko narrowed her eyes, speculative. That demon was most definitely looking a hell of a lot healthier than before.  
  
"You're getting buzzed off this, aren't you? All of MY hard work is fueling YOU'RE pathetic little, transparent shell of a body. Ha! I like that," Ritsuko mumbled, folding her arms, after putting two and two together.  
  
"Well, I wasn't going to say anything but . I haven't felt this many chaotic, dreadful emotions in so long!" he admitted, sighing blissfully.  
  
"Cheater," Ritsuko muttered darkly, snapping her fingers, and summoning a mirror to her hands. Closing her eyes, she let out a long breath onto its face, waiting patiently as the dark reflection swirled ominously, obscuring everything within it.  
  
"What are you doing?" Miji asked suspiciously, as Ritsuko skipped jovially off in search of more victims, all the while staring down at her little hand mirror, enjoying herself immensely.  
  
"Just checking up on something," she called back carelessly, disappearing into the crowd of frenzied wanderers, the sounds of painful, dying cries following her wherever she went. Miji rolled his eyes, and sank back into the shadows, cursing that conceited woman under his breath.  
  
What was she plotting?  
  
*  
  
"I'm a little frightened." Akane admitted, bighting her lip.  
  
"Me too," Ranma agreed.  
  
"Do you think we should just...?" she questioned, leaving the ending delicately open, hoping he would follow up on he reasoning and get out of this place before things got out of hand.  
  
"We don't have a choice," he quickly pointed out, as she sighed.  
  
"But what if they try to hurt us?"  
  
"They always try to hurt us. No matter what," he stated flatly.  
  
"Point, point. Okay then. but you first," Akane insisted, as she made sure Luna was still safely latched onto her back, and out of Ranma's field of vision.  
  
"Okay," the boy said, turning around and starting into the Tendou Dojo, expecting the worse. Who KNEW what sort of sick things were going on in there?  
  
"Luna, you stay out here, I just want to check on my family, and especially Kasumi and Nabiki. Maybe they're normal, and can help us get out of this mess!" Akane whispered to the cat, placing her down by some shrubbery. Luna looked awfully skeptical, but let Akane go anyway. It was worth a try.  
  
"You coming?" Ranma called, as he pushed open the door.  
  
It had taken some convincing, but Akane had finally gotten Ranma to come along with her on her noble quest to track down and destroy Ristuko, even though Luna was also going to be an active participant in the search. Their first stop was the Tendou Dojo, to check on their families. The two hadn't really discussed much in terms of Akane's Sailor Scoutness, eager to add a new thing to their already impressive lists of 'things to not bring up with your fiancée', and leaving it at that. They had other things to concern themselves with at the moment, anyway. Like, what was KODACHI doing right now? The entire city, even out of the shopping district, it appeared, seemed to be in a state of war, of sorts. Some people throwing themselves at others, while just as many other innocent civilians were sitting in corners, babbling to themselves about car insurance and Toys R Us.  
  
"Hello?" Ranma called, tiptoeing into the house, with Akane right behind him, Lunaless. "Anybody home?"  
  
"Oh no," Akane gasped. "What if they all left? What if they're all out, reeking havoc upon the-" Akane started, frantically.  
  
"Buttercups?" Soun interrupted, sliding into the room, with Nodoka right behind him. "Are you here to deliver the buttercups?" he repeated. Ranma and Akane exchanged glances. Soun was pronouncing butter like bewter.  
  
"We NEED those buttercups," Nodoka agreed, nodding her head seriously.  
  
"For the tea party, later tonight. Everyone will be there. are you two coming? Are you coming for an invitation?" Soun questioned, frowning. "I don't know if we can fit you in. It's very crowded, yes, very crowded indeed." Ranma and Akane stared at their parents warily, unsure if any sudden movements would provoke violent reactions from them.  
  
".No," Ranma said. "We're not here for an invitation,"  
  
"Or to deliver the buttercups," Akane added, just to get that straight.  
  
"Oh." Nodoka sighed, looking quite disappointed. "Then what ARE you here for? If you're just here to be annoying, we must insist you leave. I have some more shirts to pin up," she explained, irritably.  
  
"Shirts?" Ranma asked.  
  
"We're here to see Kasumi," Akane explained.  
  
"Oh! Well why didn't you say so? The little dear is right over there, poor thing, I think she has cabin fever. Haven't walked her in a while. too bad, really a shame. But, you know how things go. Yes, they go," Soun prattled, ushering the two in, finally.  
  
"Walked?" Akane wanted to say, before she fully entered the house, and understood Nodoka's comment about the shirts. All over the walls, on the furniture and on the ceiling, the family's shirts were arranged haphazardly around, Akane mentally estimating how long it would take to get everything back down with a groan. Ritsuko would PAY. In BLOOD.  
  
"Aww man, that one's my favorite!" Ranma sighed, stopping to stare up at one of his best Chinese shirts, tied around the ceiling fan, and swinging back and forth as the fan moved. "Mooom," he whined.  
  
"Yes dear?" Genma asked, marching into the room, wearing a nun's outfit, and carrying a copy of the Torah.  
  
"Erk!" Ranma choked in surprise, quickly being brought into a conversation with the man about reincarnation of important religious figures as Akane was led to the kitchen, where she, of course, found Kasumi.  
  
"Kasumi!" Akane whispered, conspiratorially, after Soun had meandered off and Nodoka had gone back to pinning shirts to furniture.  
  
"." Kasumi didn't say anything. She simply stood firmly planted in front of the kitchen door, arms folded, feet spread. Like a wall. Akane decided she was probably in shock.  
  
"Kasumi! Can you understand me? Luna is outside, and she can take us to the scout's hide out, so we can-"  
  
"Ruff!" Kasumi spat, unmoving.  
  
"What?" Akane questioned, thinking maybe she just misheard the girl.  
  
"Ruff!" Kasumi repeated, this time a bit of a growl rumbling from her chest.  
  
"Awww shit," Akane sighed. She had been so sure the other scouts would have survived the curse! But nooo.  
  
"Ruff ruff ruff!" Kasumi continued, sounding a little fiercer, and foreboding this time around.  
  
'Maybe I can get through to her. She still IS a scout, so maybe .' Akane was thinking, as she walked towards her sister with a purpose in her step. before she found herself running frantically in the opposite direction, after Kasumi determined it would be a nifty idea to come at her younger sibling with a frying pan, fed up with this nonsense the Sailor Scout was dishing her. NO one tried to get into her kitchen and lived to tell the tale!  
  
"Ranma help meeeee!!!" Akane squealed as she ran past the boy, wrapped up in Genma's discussion of how Buddha started out as a wealthy prince, isolated from the world. Ranma briefly looked up, and found himself just holding back a hysterical chuckle that bubbled from his throat, as he saw Sailor Moon sprinting for her life, and trying to outrun Kasumi who was desperately chasing after her on all fours with a frying pan clenched between her teeth.  
  
"Um, it's been wonderful talking with you. Sister Genma . but I have to go." Ranma explained, backing up, prepared to come to Akane's rescue.  
  
"May God be with you," Genma said softly, bowing his head, as Ranma threw himself across the room, catching Akane and rolling off to the side with her, sighing in relief as Kasumi soon lost interest in her pray after she lost sight of it, and was content to sit and scratch at her ear with her own foot.  
  
"Jesus, Ranma she almost bit my leg off!" Akane cried, burrowing her head into Ranma's chest. "Ahhh!" she added, as Soun walked by and discreetly dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over the couple.  
  
"Aww man!" Ranko cried, pulling at her drawstrings now that he was a she. Akane snapped away, also slightly damp, as she realized she was now resting against a very female chest, and it was getting weird. "What was that for?"  
  
"For upsetting my dog," Soun explained.  
  
"What dog? You don't mean Kasumi?"  
  
"That's Fluffy, to you," Soun huffed, stomping away, and past Nodoka, who was currently stapling Nabiki's black blazer to the wall.  
  
"I think it's time to blow this Popsicle stand," Akane admitted, shakily getting to her feet. "Luna's probably getting bored, anyhow.  
  
"God forbid," Ranko sighed, squeezing the water out of her vibrantly red hair.  
  
"Bye!" Nodoka called, as the couple slipped out of the house. "Don't forget about the teaaa party! Did you here me, girls? It's a partay! TEAA! For the love of God did you!?-" Nodoka's slightly less than commonsensical ranting was thankfully cut short as Ranko slammed the door behind her on the way out.  
  
"What a hell hole," she commented, waiting patiently on the steps for Akane to hide Luna somewhere creative on her person, so that the cat was safely out of sight. Ranko didn't really want to think about just where Luna was going. Wait. Scratch that. Yes. she did.  
  
"I'll say. Did you notice that Nabiki wasn't there?" Akane commented, Luna safely tucked away. somewhere.  
  
"Yeah, but, then again, she's hardly around the house much anyways. Hell, she was probably part of that mob we saw trying to push over the Kuno's mansion on the way here," Ranko said, as they started off down the street.  
  
"Yeah." Akane agreed, not wanting to admit how thoroughly disappointed she was that none of the scouts had pulled through, if not only because she didn't want Ranma to find out about the other scouts identities. Otherwise she'd be really bitching about it.  
  
If Kasumi didn't make it, the others probably hadn't either. What a disappointment! Akane didn't know if she would be able to take down Ritsuko without her friend's help, and she didn't want Ranma to get hurt. Things were starting to look grim. Or rather, continuing to.  
  
"Well, we're going to head over to the scouts base in Juban now. Luna and Artemis have probably dug up some useful stuff for us to work with, since it doesn't seem as though Ritsuko is going to pop up any time soon and give us a helpful hint on how to best destroy her." Akane explained, as she and Ranko continued to travel towards said Juban district.  
  
"This Artemis. he wouldn't be another cat, would he?"  
  
"That he would,"  
  
"Jesus! I mean, come on!" Ranma cried, throwing his hands up. Akane giggled in spite of herself, and the two continued to walk in a companionable silence, accented by the random loon approaching them, just waiting to stir things up when it got too comfortable.  
  
*  
  
Unbeknownst to Tokyo's two remaining saviors, Ritsuko was carefully observing their every move through her small hand mirror, which showed an eerily clear picture of the two girls heading towards the Sailor Scout's secret base.  
  
'This is too perfect!' Ritsuko thought gleefully, spinning around in mid-air, and cackling madly to herself. Now, not only did she know Sailor Moon's secret identity, and where she lived, but she was also about to find out the location of the Sailor Scout's base, a feat no one but Queen Beryl herself had been able to achieve! The blond was practically drooling with anticipation, glowing purple eyes locked on the duo's form . when suddenly her mirror began to spark and darken irritably.  
  
"What? What's this?" Ritsuko hissed in a soft voice, smacking the mirror as the picture began to go out of focus, and there was a faint buzzing sound in the air. "No! No stop it!" she whined, as the mirror's surface went totally blank, and the buzzing escalated to an all out, annoyingly loud hum.  
  
'Those damned scouts must have a cloaking device over their precious hide out. If only I had followed those girls by foot!' she cursed, snapping her fingers. Well, next time then. She was in no rush. And that young man down there looked particularly delectable, in any case.  
  
*  
  
"THIS, is the scout's secret base?" Ranko asked, landing down in front of the Crown Arcade. A quarter of the way to Juban, the girls realized they were going to have to speed things up, since Juban was a substantial distance from Nerima. Ranko had carried Akane the rest of the way over, roof hopping in order to avoid the mass hysteria on the ground. Of course, Ranko needn't have gone through so much effort, Akane knew perfectly well that, as Sailor Moon, she was very capable of roof hopping herself. however she sort of enjoyed being carried by Ranma, even if he was Ranko at the time. Okay, a little pervy, Akane would be the first to admit it, but, it HAD been rather nice. It always was, whenever Ranma ended up carrying Akane off somewhere.  
  
"I know, that's what I said, too." Akane admitted, entering the arcade, thanking whatever Gods were listening that it was very empty. (They probably had their hands tied right around now, and weren't really paying attention to her just then, but whatever.)  
  
"Heh, where's the secret hide out, behind the soda machine?" Ranko joked, searching at the back of the counter for hot water, and sighing regretfully when she found none. Not even a spare teakettle. She really should start wearing a bra in this form. It was . painful!  
  
"Actually, try behind the Sailor V game," Akane laughed, as Luna leaped to the floor and head over to said video game. Ranko sucked in a painful breath at the sight of Luna, and clamped her hands over her eyes, mumbling a comforting mantra of 'Dontbeafraidit'sjustacatdontbeafraidit'sjustacat' to herself, as Luna punched in various complicated looking codes on the video games dashboard. Akane discreetly observed Luna's passwords over the feline's shoulder, snorting as most of the codes turned out to be phrases like 'I love my artificially flavored kibbles' and 'Meow mix meow mix please de-liver.' Of course, when the video machine lurched forward before flinging itself back violently and revealing a staircase that twisted down into the depths of the arcade, Sailor Moon found herself openly staring, slack jawed, and trying furiously to memorize those passwords.  
  
Luna gave Akane a pointed look, before trotting down the stairs, and disappearing into the darkness. Akane got the hint and went to fetch Ranko.  
  
"Come on, you don't have to open your eyes, but we're going down to the Scout's hide out. I'll lead you, and warn you about cats. I'm pretty positive Art is down there," Akane explained in a surprisingly compassionate voice, taking Ranko by the elbow. Ranko nodded hesitantly, actually deciding she would risk keeping her eyes open for a bit longer, and let herself be escorted downstairs, into the underground of Crown Arcades.  
  
The air took on a bit of a chill as the couple traveled downwards, Ranko shivering, and Akane barely feeling a thing in her super cool Sailor Scout fuku. They stepped down cautiously off the last step, and found themselves on a silver platform. Before either of them could inquire as to just what they were supposed to do now, seeing as there were no doors, the platform jerked unsteadily, and began to sink down like an elevator. The girls exchanged wary glances, but voiced no complaints. Upon inspection, Akane found the 'elevator' to be littered with little graffiti everywhere, saying things like 'Minako rules' and 'Usagi drools'. Hmm. Akane got the distinct impression she had just discovered the actual names of two bona fide Sailor Scouts.  
  
"Wow. Check it out," Ranko breathed, as they reached the bottom floor. Akane had to admit, the base was undeniably, 'wow' material. It was large and silver, with tables and bookshelves tactfully scattered about, not to mention more computers and other dubious looking machinery the girl had ever seen in one room in her life. She quickly slapped a hand over Ranko's big blue eyes, when she spotted Artemis typing away at a computer to her right. Close one.  
  
"Just turn around and I'll tell you when it's safe to look," Akane said, turning Ranko so that she faced a large, wooden bookcase, before moseying over to Artemis and his computer, Luna at his side. "Hey Art, you found anything?" Akane asked, as she reached the white cat. The small animal made a swift jerking motion with his head, directing Akane's gaze over to a large, open text book of sorts, and obviously not very happy over the fact that he couldn't speak. Akane sighed and glanced over the page the cats had left open for her. It was sure a good thing they had already done all the research. This book looked immense and daunting, and Akane probably never would have been able to find anything in it.  
  
"The Plague Of Insanity.'" She quoted, loudly, so that Ranko, in her little corner, could hear as well. "'The curse is an age-old one that is not only very hard to perform, but nearly impossible to break out of once one has had the curse placed upon them. Invented in the year 600 B.C by the revered witch Cyprus Jubilee herself, the curse places all who are under it into a state of total mental retardation, ('I'll say!' Ranko huffed from the corner, thinking of her good Chinese shirt woefully.) and leaves the victims this way until the spells owner either removes the plague themselves, or is slain. The spell can be cast over as many people as one has the power to control, and lasts for as long as the caster wishes it to. It is highly dangerous and rarely performed for obvious reasons. Critics say: Not one of Ms. Jubiliee's better spells. It's basically one big hassle. The Plague of Insanity can take forever to master, and unless one has ways of replenishing their energy, is notably draining, and to top it all off: Who wants a town full of mental people, anyway?' Well. That sounds like our curse, at least!" Akane sighed, folding her arms after she had finished reading the paragraph.  
  
Luna and Artemis nodded regretfully from their corner, Artemis still dutifully typing away.  
  
"Have you found out where Ritsuko is hiding out, yet?" The two cats shook their heads negatively, and Artemis motioned for Akane to look over his shoulder.  
  
'We're not so sure she's really hiding,' he punched out. Akane wrinkled her nose.  
  
"What else would she be doing, then?" the girl questioned, scratching her head.  
  
'Well, she has an entire city of unsuspecting, helpless people. Not to mention, it's supposed to be scoutless. What would a demon of her type be doing, but draining defenseless citizens of their souls and energy? She's probably out their causing a massacre right now,' Artemis admitted.  
  
"Of course! THAT'S why she performed this spell. Not to mention, she's going to be anything but drained pretty soon if she gets all of the energy from those people! This is the perfect spell for her," Akane said in a rather horrified voice.  
  
'Exactly. We have to kill her before she takes in so many souls she becomes a truly powerful threat.'  
  
"You mean, she wasn't already?" Akane asked, dismayed.  
  
'What she was before will seem like child's play compared to what she can become.' Artemis typed, ominously. Akane blanched.  
  
"Hey, whadya talking about?" Ranko called over her shoulder, feeling a little put-out.  
  
"Um. well, it seems as though Ritsuko is most likely out killing helpless people right around now, and we're going to have to hurry and find her before she takes in all of their energy and becomes so powerful we'll never be able to kill her and successfully lift the curse," Akane summed up, cheerlessly.  
  
"Yay," Ranko sighed, rubbing her head. "Do we know where to start to look for her?"  
  
"Um." Akane started, looking down to the cats for confirmation. "Nope. Oh! But. Luna says. we can probably just follow the trail of mummified, soulless bodies, and be lead right to her! Right. Well, then, we'll just do that. Okay?"  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
"Okay then. We better go. Thanks Luna, Artemis. we'll keep in touch!. somehow." Akane said, wondering how she was supposed to stay in contact with two mute cats. Luna answered the scout's questions by tossing her a small, pink watch, as the blue haired teen was about to make her exit.  
  
'We can use this to call you, and visa versa.' She quickly typed. 'It's a special Sailor Scout watch, you can keep!'  
  
"Nifty. Thanks, I'll use it! Bye!" Akane called as she trotted off, grabbing Ranko on the way out, and disappearing back into the real world. Luna and Artemis stared silently after her. That girl was their only hope. Shit.  
  
*  
  
Akane and Ranko had been dashing down numerous streets for a while, Ranko quietly impressed over the fact that Akane could so easily keep up with her, and they hadn't found many soulless bodies, though plenty of intoxicated looking ones. Though, of course, no one was really drunk. Just really, really dumb.  
  
"SHAVE THE WHALES!" one man proclaimed, climbing onto a dumpster to make this announcement, before being yanked back down by a distressed looking brunette, who was complaining about how she couldn't understand why they were always fighting in suburbia.  
  
"So, Akane, just who ARE the other replacement scouts you're supposed to be working with?" Ranko asked curiously, as both girls kept their eyes peeled for any random, mummified people just lying about. This little detail had been nagging the redhead for a while. Just who was Akane working with when she went out to fight crime? Who was aiding her fiancée when she was cornered by bloodthirsty yomas?  
  
".Oh, you know, just people." Akane said, feeling the heat rise to her face. She wasn't in any position to reveal to Ranma that her friend's were miniskirt-wearing superhero chicks on the side.  
  
"People, hu?" Ranko repeated, sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah. no one . you would know." Akane fibbed casually, pretending to almost spot a really dead looking person.  
  
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want me to find out who these other Scouts are," Ranko commented, raising her eyebrows. How interesting.  
  
"Well, maybe I don't! It's really none of your business!" Akane snapped, frowning. This was getting bad, she didn't know what would happen to her if the others found out their secret identities had been exposed.  
  
"Okay then, I'll just have to guess!" Ranko decided, undaunted.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Is it. Yuka or Sayuri?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Kodachi?"  
  
"Noooo!"  
  
"Kasumi?" Ranko joked, imagining KASUMI dressed up as a Scout.  
  
"Erk. umm, no!" Akane gulped, trying very hard not to blink or look too guilty. Unfortunately, Ranma hadn't lived with Akane form nearly two years just to learn nothing. They way her eyes darted about, and her neck reddened, as he'd learned it, was a dead give away that Akane was lying about something. But. that would mean.  
  
"She IS a replacement Scout!" Ranko gasped, eyes as wide as saucers.  
  
"No! No. she's not!" Akane tried, valiantly attempting to appear completely serious. Alas.  
  
"That's. that's hilarious!" Ranko giggled, that picture of Kasumi all dolled up becoming much more vivid and amusing now. Also sort of disturbing, but whatever.  
  
"No, it's not! And you CAN'T tell her you found out! It would be too horrible!" Akane pleaded, practically sweating. It wasn't as though Kasumi would be ashamed to have others learns she was Sailor Mercury, but, well. yeah that might basically be it.  
  
"Let me guess, what another masked vigilante is in your little group? Nabiki?" Ranko chortled, still shaking her head and laughing deeply.  
  
"N-no..!"  
  
"Oh, GAWD!"  
  
"Ranmmaaaa!" Akane growled, a bright red aura forming around her as Ranko all but doubled over with laughter. No! This was NOT good! That jerk was going to pay! Damn him for being so good at reading her!  
  
"That's too perfect! Finally! Something I can blackmail HER with!" Ranko gasped, hooting gleefully.  
  
"Ranma, don't you dare! She'll skin me! She'll kill me! Family ties mean nothing to her!" Akane got out, looking a tad bit hysteric now.  
  
"Ha, but wouldn't it be worth it, just to see her squirm?" Ranko asked, eyes alight with the very prospect of watching Nabiki 'squirm'.  
  
"Well, maybe, but. well no! Not if it was all my fault!"  
  
"Aww, come on, you know it-"  
  
"Ranma!" Akane gasped, stopping abruptly, and sticking one hand out to prevent Ranko from continuing. The smaller girl halted, eyes darting around to see what Akane had spotted. Erk. It was pretty obvious. And if she didn't have such good reflexes, she might have stepped on it.  
  
"Well, there's that trail Luna was mentioning," Ranko sighed, trying hard not to gawk at the rotting corpse in front of her. Akane closed her eyes and put her forehead on Ranko's shoulder.  
  
"Ranma, this is disgusting." Akane gritted out, as she realized that there were many more dead bodies, covering the streets with their nauseatingly deformed bodies and horrid stench.  
  
"I know," Ranko agreed, sighing, yet forging forward anyway. "But. if we don't find Ritsuko soon, she'll only get stronger and stronger, and then we'll be in some real trouble,"  
  
"Right," Akane agreed softly, following cautiously behind Ranko as she trotted down the street, following the bloody trail Ritsuko had courteously left for them to pursue.  
  
The two jogged along for some time, Ranko leading the way since she had the strongest stomach, Ranko also being the one who got to fret as she realized just how long this trail was becoming, and how strong THAT must mean this Ritsuko demon was becoming. Not a good sign.  
  
"Um. It stops here," Ranko admitted, halting, and looking around. They had ended up on a relatively empty street, with plain looking houses and ordinary cars. no one was in sight. where had Ritsuko gone from here? Had they lost her? She hoped not.  
  
"Where's Ritsuko?" Akane asked, voicing Ranma's thoughts, her head darting hesitantly around, just in case she spotted any more dead things. Luckily, or unluckily, as the case may be, there was nothing. Hardly even a breeze. "Have we lost her again?"  
  
"You're going to wish." A booming, threatening voice sounded from above the couple. Their heads simultaneously snapped up, watching with bated breath as Ritusko descended from a building, and then came to hover a foot off the ground in front of them. Akane recoiled at the feel of the woman. Using her new scout powers to feel the demon woman properly, it was realized that Ritsuko definitely felt substantially more powerful, and, well, just scary. As though she could snap Akane's neck without batting a lash, while maybe even sadistically sucking the life out of Ranma on the side.  
  
"Um," Akane whispered in Ranko's ear, clenching her fists. From the stricken look on Ranko's face, she felt the power too. They were in for some trouble.  
  
"Impressed?" Ritsuko chuckled, her violet eyes flashing so bright now they were hard to look at.  
  
"Revolted," Akane corrected, a deep frown on her face. It was now her duty to take this demon down. but she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to do that. From where she was standing, it looked near impossible.  
  
"Ha. I'll make you eat your words, you stupid mortal. I'll admit it having a Sailor Scout and her little buddy conscious for my plague was never part of the plan, but I don't think it's turned out so bad," Ritsuko drawled, slinking over to the couple, who were periodically backing away from her, the closer she got. "In fact, I think it might even be a little . fun. I've got a lot planned." she explained, looking very pleased.  
  
"Planned? Lady, this isn't some game! You're toying with people's lives here, and we're not going to stand for it! Now take this spell off Tokyo or we'll make you!" Ranko threatened, quickly getting over the initial shock, and already digging herself a hole.  
  
"But I don't think I want to do that," Ritsuko admitted, making a pouty face, that all but drove Akane up the wall. She HATED people who made pouty faces!  
  
"Then we'll just have to kill you!" Ranko roared, totally fed up. She charged forward towards the demon with impressive speed, the exact same way she had done back on the roof, hours ago. But this time, before she got directly in front of Ritusko, who was no doubt planning something painful for the girl, Ranko leaped a good distance into the air, landing behind Ritusko before the demon could comprehend where Ranko had gone in the first place. Once safely behind the demon, Ranko delivered a healthy round house kick that would have had, admittedly, a significant amount of more power had she been male again. Oh well.  
  
"Ugh! Don't underestimate me!" Ritusko gasped, as Ranko's foot connected with her backside for a second time. She grabbed the surprised Anything Goes martial artist by the ankle the second time around, smiling viscously as she got a good grip, and was able to swing Ranko around once, before tossing her into the nearby side of a house.  
  
"Ranma!" Akane cried, eyes wide, as Ranko hit the wall, unable to gain her footing before she collided with its very solid form, and crumpled to the ground.  
  
"Ouch," Ranko grumbled, feeling a warm line of blood make its way down the back of her neck. She HAD been underestimating Ritsuko, probably because the demon had a female form, and was thus totally unprepared for the sheer amount of brute strength Ritsuko now possessed. It was shocking, to put it lightly. And things were starting to look grim for the redhead as Ritsuko bounded over to Ranko, and lifted her up by her collar, grinning far too broadly, fangs protruding devilishly.  
  
"You like that?" she asked softly, cocking an eyebrow.  
  
"Er. no," Ranko conceded, wondering what she was supposed to say to that.  
  
"Then you're going to like what comes next even less," Ritsuko admitted, pulling her arm back to deliver a powerful punch across Ranko's face that left the girl seeing stars. "Stupid mortal! You're going to wish you had just succumbed and become one of those inept retards out there in a second! You would have had longer to live!" Ritusko cackled. Ranko tried not to make any noise as another punch was delivered to her swollen cheek. Blood was trickling from between clenched lips, and Ranko was just getting the leverage she needed to kick Ritsuko across the face while still hanging in mid air, when something completely different happened.  
  
"MOOOOOON TIARA. ACTION!" Akane cried, tossing her tiara forward with arms that were fully buff from many years of reducing piles of bricks to dust. Ritsuko felt the full brunt of that power, too, as the magically enhanced Frisbee connected with her, and it was all she good do to force it back. The demon snarled threateningly as she felt some of her power recede. That new Sailor Moon was getting too good at that attack. she had to be stopped.  
  
"Let Ranma down!" Akane ordered, as the tiara returned to her gloved hands. Ritsuko let Ranko drop to the ground, like a rather angry rag doll, though not at all for the reasons Akane had hoped. Namely: Surrender.  
  
"I think I know just what to give to keep YOU occupied, and ME amused, Sailor Moon. See, I've done some background research on your true identity. and. I know JUST who you would HATE to fight right now. Just who you would HATE to have beat you," Ritsuko giggled, as Ranko got unsteadily to her feet behind her, injured, but no where near finished.  
  
".Who?" Akane asked slowly, not so much out of curiosity, but in order to give Ranko more time to regain her bearings.  
  
"Them." Ritsuko said simply, as two, distinctly female forms bounded out from the shadows, menacing and ready to do battle.  
  
"Ugh!" Akane moaned, slapping her forehead as none other than Ukyo and Shampoo came running at her. As cozy as the three rivals in love had gotten in the past few days, being fellow scouts and all, Ritsuko was still right: Akane wouldn't like to be beaten by either girl, under a madwoman's spell or no.  
  
"Kill!" Both teenagers breathed in evil, uncharacteristic voices.  
  
"Aah!" Akane yelled, just dodging their sloppy, yet deadly powerful punches as they hurled themselves at her. Both girls were lacking their usual skill, however they still had all the physical power they needed to decapitate Akane. "Stop it! You guys! It's me! Think about what you're doing!" Akane tried to reason with the two possessed girls. However, nothing seemed to be getting through to them, and Akane was starting to wonder if she'd have to retaliate in order to keep her head. She didn't want to hurt the girls. not really, anyway. but she wasn't being given many other choices.  
  
Ristuko's give away cries of "Ho ho ho! Ho ho ho-aghked!" signified that Ranko was back on her feet again and giving the blond demon hell. Akane smiled at the thought that together, as a team, she and Ranma just might stand a chance against this demon, when Shampoo delivered a mad swipe at her legs, and Akane came painfully tumbling to the ground, skinning her chin, and having the wind knocked out of her. Wasting no time, Shampoo flipped Akane over, and sat on her stomach, back handing her across the face as soon as Akane realized just where she was again.  
  
"Ack!" Akane cried, spitting out some blood, but, thankfully, no teeth.  
  
"Akane!" Ranko screamed, enraged, for all that she knew Akane was much more capable of defending herself now, as a superhero, that her fiancée was having the stuffing knocked out of her. She didn't have much time to dwell upon how angry she was, though, because Ritsuko was quickly forming a ball of purple energy in her hand she used to force Ranko to go flying back onto the street, where she skidded along for a bit, before stopping herself with her hands, and flipping herself forward, looking a bit exhausted.  
  
"We'll killllll you." Ukyo was hissing, as Akane regained her senses, and used her knee to jab Shampoo in the back of the head. The attractive Amazon cried out in pain, and Akane used this time to toss her backwards, and into Ukyo. The two girls collapsed to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs, once again showing just how much of their skills had been lost with the mind control. Akane, heaving big gasps, got to her feet, and scampered over to Ranko, who was groaning as well, and getting back to her feet.  
  
"She's pretty powerful, 'Kane." Ranko admitted, frowning as she traced what would soon be a very defined bruise along Akane's cheek, even as Ritsuko eyed the girls from a distance. Akane frowned and shook her head.  
  
"We can take her! We just need a new tactic. our usual fighting strategies aren't going to cut it with someone like her. We'll just have to adapt! We don't practice Anything Goes for nothing!" Akane reminded Ranko. Ranko smiled at these words. They sounded like something she, herself would say.  
  
"Right,"  
  
"Play time is up girls! Admit it, you can avoid it, but I'm still far more powerful than you could ever hope to be!" Ritsuko laughed, a sparking ball of purple energy swirling in her hands. She tossed it indolently at the two girls, Ranko growling and grabbing Akane around the waist, leaping adroitly to the side with the girl. The ball of energy exploded noisily into the ground, fizzing over with energy and negative power, and Akane winced. That could have been them! She could have been a pancake!  
  
"Careful!" Ranko hissed, staring furiously at Ristuko, who had her thin arms raised dramatically to the heavens, summoning up yet another powerful energy ball. This one seemed to be accumulative, and different, though, drawing off the unspuspecting energy of the retarded natives. Even Ukyo and Shampoo, now standing quietly off to the side, were feeling the effects as their life force was drained from them, and added to the energy ball's over all potency. Akane blanched, they had to do something. Still in Ranko's arms she hugged the girl hard, closing her chocolate eyes tight, and hoping for a miracle. She couldn't die! Not like this! Not without saving everyone! Not without telling Ranma!-  
  
"Akane!" Ranko gasped, something exploding in between the couple as Akane prayed for everyone's safety, refusing to fail in her duty as Sailor Moon, no matter that she was only a proxy scout.  
  
"What?" Akane asked, looking down. "What the hell is that?" she questioned, as a pure white ball of sparkling energy began to gain a physical form, sandwiched between the two girls.  
  
"Beats me," Ranko said, shrugging. There was a sudden blinding flash of light coming from the orb that left both teens feeling warm and strangely content. The ball also left in its place. a moon wand.  
  
"Okay. so what the hell is THIS?" Akane sighed, fed up with being confused, as she grasped the small, pink and golden wand. It was vibrating with power, that much she could tell, and she wasn't sure how it had gotten there, but she knew she had to use it. It had a shiny pink handle, and a crescent moon placed horizontally on the top of it. It was humming with a deep, ancient power Akane couldn't understand.  
  
"Beats me." Ranko repeated firmly.  
  
"AHA!" Ritsuko cried gaily, the looming, terribly large purple energy ball above her head having gained in mass and power since the couple had last glanced it. two minutes ago. Great.  
  
"Ranma, that thing is going to kill us!" Akane cried, holding the newly made wand in front of her, hoping it would offer some abstract form of protection. She really had no idea what else to do with it. What good was being a Sailor Scout if you couldn't use your own weapons properly!?  
  
"I know!" the currently female martial artist agreed, clutching Akane's arm, eyes wide and fearful. "Akane. In . In case. we don't make it. I . want you to know. that. I'll always protect you!" Ranko offered, biting her lip, and obviously withholding something a little more effective that she wanted to say.  
  
"Um. okay. Me too!" Akane agreed, tears forming in her eyes. Who would have thought it would end like this? It was so. random!  
  
"And.. And I really. I really. want you to know that I. L-l-l-o-"  
  
"RANMA!" Akane screamed, as something, fueled by the strong, powerfully loving and desperate emotions swirling around in the two teen's hearts, burst out of Ranma and Akane, and into the brand spanking new Moon Wand, that began to glow happily with all of the nice feelings it was receiving, and created a powerful blast of its own. made of purely of pink sparkly energy, and a whole lot of power.  
  
Ranko and Akane looked on, shocked, as the steady flow of power shot out of the wand, still pointed directly at Ritsuko thanks to Akane. It slammed into Ritsuko's purple ball of doom, and immediately began to struggle with it, refusing to be blinked out of existence by the overbearing, purple counterpart. "Agh!" Akane gasped, now using both arms to support the wand as it became increasingly difficult to hold it up. Her new powers might be strong, but so were Ritsuko's. she didn't know if she could challenge the angry yoma's powers all alone.  
  
"Akane!" Ranko wheezed, grabbing onto the wand too, and adding her strength to the equation, smiling grimly as the girl's pink energy ball became sturdier and more powerful, easily keeping its own against Ritsuko's wrath now.  
  
"What are you DOING!?" Ritsuko howled in fury, eyes so wide it looked painful. "You shouldn't be able to summon Sailor Moon's Wand! It shouldn't be obtainable to you little weaklings, you-AHHHH!" Risk was thankfully cut off in her angry diatribe, as the pink ball began to swallow and purify the large, loud and angry purple one, pacifying it with a single touch. "NO!" Ritsuko cried in anguish, as she was forced back, eventually to her knees, her arms shaking violently. Then with one last, powerful thrust from Ranko and Akane, the purple ball of angry energy exploded into oblivion, scattering the streets with sparkles, the only hint it had ever even been created.  
  
The pink ball too, quickly shrank and disappeared with a little good bye twinkle, gone it seemed, until it was needed again.  
  
"No." Ritsuko repeated, shaking on the ground, her hair splayed out around her, a tangled, sweaty mess. Her skin was pale almost to the point of being green, and her eyes were no longer totally purple, but back to their normal, natural looking state. Her lips quivered with outrage, and her state of dress was ragged, to put it politely. Oh hell, why should we? She looked like a dirt mess! Like someone had just chewed her up and spit her out! Like she had been homless in Central Park for a few months! Like-  
  
"Ranma!" Akane laughed, throwing her arms happily around Ranko's neck, wand still firmly in hand, and tears prickling at her eyes. They had done it! They had really done it!  
  
"Akane!" Ranko replied, laughing as well. Phew! For a moment there, she had thought she was going to have one of those terrible moments where you see your life flash before your eyes! . Again! "We beat her! We rock!" she explained.  
  
"I know!" Akane giggled, her smile so broad it hurt to keep it up, but she didn't mind. She and Ranma had just totally saved the day, AND he had just almost admitted to the girl that he loved her. Again! Well, it was something. It was most definitely something.  
  
"Akane," Ranko said, taking in a ragged breath, and staring Akane dead in the eye, so that the girl wouldn't mistake the fact that she was being dead serious now. "There's something I want to tell you, but I think I should be male when I-!"  
  
"Youu. I won't let you live! I'll show you what it means to tangle with Ritsuko. You impudent little brats- Arrrghghhhhkkk!" Ristuko gasped, as she began to stand up, cruel intentions dancing through her mind, only to be cut off by a bright beam of golden light that came crashing through her abdomen, and nearly killing her. The attack was accompanied by the passionate cry of:  
  
"Sailor V BEAM!" Someone proclaimed in a very high, Chinese accented voice. It was Shampoo, fully transformed now, and standing with her long violet hair flying behind her, and one arm extended dramatically. Behind her, a still disoriented Ukyo was struggling to her feet, rubbing her head and trying to figure out just where in God's name she was.  
  
"Shampoo! You found your scout power!" Akane said, finding even more of a reason to keep that painfully broad smile plastered to her face, even as Ritsuko began to moan thickly again, gasping and writhing on the ground.  
  
"Shampoo's a scout!?" Ranko croaked, jaw dropping to the ground, head spinning. Okay. things were getting a BIT too twilight Zone-ish here! Nabiki? Okay. Kasumi? Erk-okay. SHAMPOO?- Actually, that wasn't so unreasonable, but it was still pretty shocking.  
  
But Shampoo didn't reply as enthusiastically as Akane had anticipated. In fact. she looked rather thoughtful, or maybe even introspective, as she stared at Ranko and Akane, hugging each other as though their lives depended on it, and simply radiating a lot of warm and mushy feelings. that Shampoo suddenly felt very cut off from. With hardly another word, the Amazon spun on her orange heal, and sped off down the street, faster than Akane had thought someone who had just been released from a powerful mind controlling spell could run, quickly disappearing out of the line of vision of the confused couple.  
  
"What's up with her?" Ranko asked, cocking her head in Shampoo's direction. Akane looked down at the position she was in, realized just how close she was getting with the female Ranma, yet AGAIN, and sighed, regretfully letting go.  
  
"I think I know," she admitted, getting to her feet, and brushing the debris off her skirt.  
  
"What do you-?"  
  
"You'll all pay." Ritsuko croaked, a steady stream of blood pouring from her mouth, as she interrupted the couple's inevitable confrontation. She was actually getting very talented at effectively interrupting critical moments.  
  
"Yeah, right. We're gonna pay." Akane said, rolling her eyes, and approaching Ritusko, Ranko also getting to her feet behind her. "Come on Ritusko, I think Luna and Artemis would love to meet you, so now-"  
  
"No!" Risk said, letting out a guttural shout, and summoning together the last of her powers for one, final, desperate, weak, transportation spell.  
  
"Stop it!" Ranko gasped, dashing forward, seeing clearly just what Ritsuko had in mind for her next trick. "I won't let you get a-" There was a slightly less than impressive poof of purple dust, that totally covered a hacking and coughing Ritusko. and when the dust had settled, the troublesome blond was gone, the only evidence she had ever been there a pile of purple dirt on the road. It was definitely a step down from her previous disappearing acts.  
  
"-way." Ranko finished dully, stumbling over Ritsuko's magic purple dust stuff. "Sorry 'Kane," Ranko sighed, turning to look sadly at her fiancée. "I let her go,"  
  
"Don't worry Ranma, it's not your fault. Ritsuko will get her comeuppance anyway, don't worry. You saw how weak she was! She won't last long, and then me and the scouts can sniff her out," the girl bubbled, smiling encouragingly at Ranko.  
  
"Right," Ranko sighed, taking Akane's hand, and squeezing it thankfully. Why did she suddenly feel so comfortable about being near Akane? She had never felt so comfortable about being close to Akane, who was always more like some untouchable dream than a real fiancée, or even girlfriend. and suddenly.  
  
'Hell,' Ranko thought, sighing. 'If I wasn't female and all, I'd kiss her! I'm just so happy to be alive!'  
  
"Ranma?" A slightly defeated sounding voice asked.  
  
"U-chan?" Ranko gasped, turning to the side, to look at the tall brunette of whom she had almost just forgotten about.  
  
'Did I really just see all that. Ranma and Akane hugging. getting along. holding hands. staring at each other longingly. I. I must have hit my head on the road too hard.' Ukyo decided, closing her eyes, and holding back a small sob that was a total mix of despair and confusion.  
  
"Ukyo! You look horrible, let's help you get back to the U-chan!" Akane cooed, walking over to the girl, hoping to help steady her. But the befuddled and upset girl flinched away from Akane's touch, backing away, and hugging herself tight.  
  
"W-what's going on?" she asked in a scratchy voice, disturbed as, on top of it all, her mind drew a blank when she considered things like: Why she was where she was, what had just happened, and why did she feel so miserably feeble? Akane seemed to pity Ukyo's state even more at this, much to the chef's chagrin, and her big liquid brown eyes got all misty as she stared at her.  
  
"Ukyo. please. let us just take you to-"  
  
"No!" Ukyo snapped, gathering her wits, and using them to propel her towards the U-chan, in much a way Shampoo had, earlier. All she wanted was not to be there with THOSE two, watching them get closer, happier.. They looked so perfect together, like that! Dammit! Why couldn't SHE look perfect with Ran-chan like that! WHY?  
  
"U-chan!?" Ranko called after the chef, starting after the girl, and then hesitating as the brunette chucked a warning spatula in the redhead's direction. Okkaayy. maybe not. "What's going on, do I smell funky or something?" Ranko asked, looking vulnerable as she glanced back at Akane, who had a very real, very terrible understanding of what had just happened. Poor Ukyo. it really was a shame Ranma was so very dense at times.  
  
"No, no you don't Ranma. Well, maybe you do, but that's not the reason" Akane said, her mega-super grin having been cranked down to a hesitant smile. "I think they just. saw something they didn't want to," Akane admitted, looping arms with Ranko, and sauntering down the street, ready to make the long trek home, if it meant she got to walk all the way with Ranma. female or not. "We can see them about it later. but, I think things are about to change around here,"  
  
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know!" Ranko laughed, thinking of everything that had just happened. Four girls she had thought she knew almost everything about had just turned out to be prodigy cartoon characters!  
  
"Ummm.You've got pink, Sailor Moon dust all over your face." Akane tried.  
  
"Hey, so do you! Shut up!"  
  
Akane knew she shouldn't have enjoyed the walk home. Shouldn't have been so blissfully content, when there was work to do, crushed fiancées to worry about, and explanations to give Ranma about the Sailor Scout bit. but she did.  
  
*  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Lalala. I just spent three hours finishing this stupid fic. and I still have to spell checckkkk!! ((yeah, spell checker's not going to like that one, I can see it now.) Anywho, thanks for reading. Now, review- OR ELSE. (Heh, just kidding. just kidding.) I hope I didn't make too many grammatical errors I'm too damn lazy to fix, and expect the next chapter innnnn. two weeks? Maybe? Give or take (Give, probably) a few days. Thanks again, and happy holidays!  
  
-Rio Grande~  
  
* 


	8. REALTaking a Step Back

Hey all! What happened last chapter? No one reviewed! I feel so alone. but it's all right, I still have another chapter for you, it's not over yet! (Actually, it's not even close.) So I still want to hear what you think about my plot and would appreciate it if you would correct any and all mistakes you catch, since the deeper I get into a fic the more little details I forget about, and the more I miss when I write. I don't care if you're harsh; I can take it! - Maybe. Anyway, please enjoy  
  
I don't own Ranma ½.  
  
WARNING: This chapter isn't going to be so slapstick. or even remotely funny. It's more introspective and critical. But whatever, it's also sort of WAFFY for all of the cast, so enjoy!  
  
*  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Chapter Seven: Taking A Step Back  
  
*  
  
Ritsuko let out another hacking cough, holding her throat with one hand as she held a blood soaked cloth to her mouth with the other. She had been choking up blood like this for nearly an hour, her internal wounds needing time to heal, even though she had the superior healing powers of a demon. That Sailor Scout and her little friend had most certainly done a number on her: But she would survive.  
  
And then she'd come back, and beat the living daylights out of their obnoxious little bodies.  
  
God! She couldn't wait until she had gathered all of the talismans, releasing her true, unchecked power, and got to see those little girl's (Well, technically, one of them was male. she was pretty sure.) heads spin. It would be a day that, alone, would give her enough hope to get better and continue her plans.  
  
After all, no matter that her plague had been destroyed, she still had collected yet another talisman, so her mission was accomplished anyway. And those stupid cats probably didn't even know about it yet.  
  
'Just two more. not including the one those bitches stole from me. When I finally obtain all of those talismans my power will reach it's maximum potential, and Earth shall know my true wrath!' This was the point where she would have cackled evilly, had her throat not been excruciatingly raw from coughing.  
  
Hobbling weakly over to a corner of her darkly lit, and sparsely furnished apartment, Ritsuko reached a glass display case, which now held two pieces of finely made, ancient jewelry. One was the Glowing Necklace Of China, a definitely luminescent piece with a thick gold chain and sparkling white gem hanging off it; thus the name. It had been stolen from the museum. Next to it was the most recent occupant of the display case. a gold bracelet. It was thick and shining, small crystals littered around it haphazardly, giving it a drool worthy rich look. It was titled the Golden Wristlet of Power, and Ritsuko had nabbed it from a collector's house while everyone had still been under the potent affects of her spell. She could have found the other two still floating around Japan as well if those meddling kids hadn't gotten in her way! She should have just killed them when she had the chance!  
  
On the other hand, she had discovered some very valuable information about the temporary Sailor Moon and her friend, thanks to her seeing mirror, and these tidings could very well prove to be the girl's undoing. especially now that she knew who all of the other scouts were, as well.  
  
You see, after happening upon Akane's house after she had left it, Ritsuko had located the girl's diary! A marvelous thing that had told her much about Akane's life since she had met that fiancée of hers. Well, besides deciding that Akane was most definitely in love with that Ranma fellow, Ritsuko had also found Akane's archenemies, and used them against her in the last battle. That ingenious plan had almost worked, too.  
  
In addition, Akane had also recorded in her diary the true identities of all of the provisional Sailor Scouts. Heck, the only thing the girl had left out was the scout's secret base! And Ritsuko was sure that, after a little more investigation, that problem could be rectified too.  
  
'If not for the fact that I have been injured to the point of death, and that all of the new Sailor Scout's powers are escalating to heights that shouldn't be humanly possible. this was actually a very productive spell, over all.' Ritsuko decided with a grim expression on her face, letting herself sink to the ground, exhausted. 'However I need to act quickly if I want to reach my goal. and I can't do that just yet. maybe in a week. but. do I have that much time? I have to be the first one to get those talismans, and not let the scout team nab another, and that means I need something to occupy those girls with while I'm out! .'  
  
Ritsuko frowned as she thought of her limited list of demon friends who could help her here. Most of them had been killed by the real Sailor Scouts years ago, and there wasn't much evil left on this Earth, because of it. Ritsuko let out a miserable groan as she realized there was suddenly only one demon left who could help her with this mission now.  
  
'Well, he's IS in a lot better shape thanks to my spell. maybe.'  
  
*  
  
Akane sighed and rested her head her head against Ranma's back, letting the cool breeze flit around her hair, and letting her fatigued body finally take a breather, as she rested on the park bench of Nerima's playground with her fiancée.  
  
The duo had wandered off, dog tired, after beating Ritsuko, and also after Shampoo and Ukyo had unexpectedly split. They had slipped into a currently abandoned café and finally gotten some hot water for Ranma, much to both of their relieves, and then decided that they would much rather hang around the playground for a while than go home where they were sure everyone was frantically trying to fix up the gigantic mess they had made.  
  
As was evident from the people in the streets reactions, no one remembered what had transpired while under the spell, and were just generally confused as to why, when they awoke, they were clawing their way up a building in a ballerina outfit. This was just good and fine for Ranma and Akane though, seeing as how they didn't really feel like explaining what happened to anyone except the other Scouts, and decided it would be best if everyone would just forget what happened. It had been too weird to describe!  
  
"Ranma?" Akane asked quietly, turning her head slightly to glance at Ranma, of who's back she was using for support.  
  
"Hm?" he replied, softly.  
  
"What do you think is going to happen to all of the dead bodies out there?"  
  
"Um, I don't know, the same thing that happens to most dead bodies, I guess," Ranma said, shrugging.  
  
"But there were so many. and everyone is going to find them just lying there." Akane sighed, shivering as she remembered all of those mutilated faces.  
  
"Yeah, I know." Ranma said softly.  
  
The two sat in silence again for a few minutes, taking comfort in simply their presences. It was plain to see something had blossomed between the two since the fight, and, unlike most other times when emotional things happened between them, they weren't avoiding it. In fact, they were basking in it, taking delight in that they could now be so at ease and honest around each other, now that both were positive the other knew basically how they felt. basically. There were still some more passionate emotions yet to be voiced, but generally, Ranma and Akane were pretty satisfied in that with that near death experience with Ritsuko, they had almost articulated some very deep confessions that they wouldn't be taking back. Ranma had told Akane he had always protected her (Which she, on some level, had always known.) and had almost told her he loved her as well. and she had wanted to hear it. She had been ready. Not to mention, between them, their love had created a moon staff that had destroyed the ugly demon.  
  
It was pretty hard to go against something like that.  
  
So now, there they were, leaning against one another in the vacant playground, waiting for the heat to die down, small smiles on both their faces.  
  
"Ranma?" Akane asked again.  
  
"Hm?" he replied once more.  
  
".Are you mad at me?"  
  
"What?" Ranma asked, taken off guard by the question, since he was most definitely feeling little to no angry thoughts at that moment, for the first time in a long time.  
  
"I mean, about keeping the whole Sailor Scout thing to myself. and not telling you that others were scouts as well," she reiderated, letting out a small sigh as she realized what she had just said might ruin in the momentary truce between she and Ranma. She had liked that truce; it had made her feel. secure.  
  
"Oh, that. Well. yeah, maybe a little," Akane bowed her head regretfully at this. "But not so much- I mean, I know you felt obligated to not tell me anything, because those were the rules given to you by the c- cats." Ranma said, swallowing the word carefully.  
  
".Really?" Akane asked, softly, surprised he was being so reasonable, and looking at the situation from her point of view, a notion she rarely returned for him.  
  
"Yeah, really. I mean, I wish you could have at LEAST told ME about all this. but, on the other hand, I don't know if I would have told you if the situations had been reversed," he admitted. Akane frowned as she thought about Ranma being a Sailor Scout (Ew, male Ranma in a fuku? Bad mental image! Bad mental image!) and not telling her about it, biting her lip at the protective feeling bubbling in her chest. She could understand how Ranma might be a little upset about it, and for once in her life, didn't begrudge him this feeling.  
  
"I'm sorry Ranma," she said quickly, turning around to face him, looking normal again now that she was un-Sailor Moon-ified. "I promise I won't keep something like that from you again," This statement in itself was so wholly unexpected by Ranma, who had been counting on Akane getting huffy about his worries, no matter how reasonable, that he blinked a few times in confusion before responding.  
  
"Oh. thanks, Akane," he said, warmly, a large smile gracing his lips. Wow! Something really HAD transpired between them, and it was definitely working out in his favor. Smiling cutely back, Akane rested her head on Ranma's shoulder, deciding she would be getting at least a good ten hours of sleep that night. Saving Tokyo was tiring work, and now she felt ready to hit the hay right then and there. Ranma's warm, muscular shoulder didn't really seem that bad a pillow at the moment, and she had never felt so utterly comfortable around the boy in her life, so ignoring the alluring soporific vibes beckoning her to dream land was getting harder and harder. Ranma glanced down at her affectionately once, before turning away to look at the darkening sky, a smile still etched on his face. This was definitely more how things should be.  
  
Of course. there were still angry fiancées and Sailor Scout business to think about, but Ranma tried to push those thoughts away, to be dealt with later. He didn't want to think about anything besides how happy he was just then.  
  
*  
  
Shampoo quietly entered the Nekohatten, wincing even more as she saw how beaten up it was, most likely thanks to the customers who had gone berserk when the spell was cast. No one was in sight currently, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to be careful. she didn't feel like running into anyone just then.  
  
Indeed, since she and Ukyo had had the additional spell cast on them, Shampoo could remember everything that had happened to her during the spell. From that rather embarrassing moment where she had been hopping like a bunny into the local shoe store, and had been nibbling on a boot, to the point where she had been trying to murder Akane, and had watched Ranma be so protective over her.  
  
Shampoo took in a shuddering breath as she tried to block out the image of Ranma and Akane, kneeling together, and looking lovingly into one another's eyes after beating Ritsuko with that little. staff thing they had made together. It had been a scarring image that she had predicted long ago would take place, (Though possible with slightly different circumstances.) but had been trying to avoid since she came to Nerima.  
  
Dammit, she didn't have a CHOICE about marrying Ranma! It just wasn't an option NOT to! How come no one, especially not that Akane, saw this? Ever since she had come to this town she had realized by the subtle looks and actions the two traded that there had been some definite chemistry between them, where she had Ranma just had sparks of action and lust. mainly enforced by Shampoo herself and very odd situations. The whole deal was discouraging to say the least when you had an entire village of warrior women back home, expecting you to return soon married to possibly the most powerful martial artist in the world. How could she pull something like that off when it was obvious Ranma was smitten with Akane now?  
  
The fact that she had just discovered her true scout power in the form of the Sailor V beam did little to cheer Shampoo up when she thought about how this was all going to have a devastating affect on her social life. Also, Cologne wouldn't stand for it if she noticed Ranma and Akane getting too close.  
  
The pretty Amazon had been just about ready to go up to her room and vent a little in private, when a faint shuffling sound off to her right took her by surprise.  
  
"Mousse!" she gasped, watching the tall man come out of the kitchen, wearing his waiter's outfit and a scowl on his face. Shampoo noticed he was also sporting a broom, and was most likely preparing to clean the Nekohatten up, even though he had no idea what had caused all of the mess. Shampoo frowned; she positively didn't feel like talking to THIS man in particular. Out of everyone in Nerima, he was the one who understood the least that she could do nothing but marry Ranma, as was the law. And he was from her own tribe! How could he be so blind?! Oh, wait a minute.  
  
"Shampoo!" he gasped, dropping the broom, and able to recognize the girl because he was currently wearing those impossibly thick glasses of his, as he often did in private. "Do you know what's going on here? What happened to the Nekohatten, and where's Cologne?" he asked quickly. Shampoo shook her head, pretending not to know, if not only to avoid the Amazon male completely.  
  
"Shampoo no know," she explained quickly, turning to head up the stairs, and flinching as she was stopped once more by Mousse.  
  
"Wait! Shampoo! Is everything. all right?" he asked holding a hand out to stop her. Shampoo sighed with her back turned to him.  
  
"Yes Mousse. Shampoo is fine, now clean," she ordered sharply.  
  
"But. you just look sort of upset is all," he explained, having lived with the girl for most of his life, and being easily able to read most of her emotions. Just then, she was undeniably troubled by something. Shampoo closed her eyes, and turned around, wondering if she would have been better off splashing him with some cold water and just leaving. Would have been less of a hassle.  
  
"No. you is wrong. Shampoo is fine," she insisted, pretending that she was. Pretending that seeing Ranma and Akane, together, no matter that Ranma was female at the time, in love, was nothing to be worried about.  
  
"I don't think so. I think something happened. I think you know about all this," Mousse said seriously, addressing the wreck that used to be a ramen restaurant. Shampoo frowned. Mousse rarely contradicted her, but when he did, he was usually right.  
  
You don't know what you're talking about. Shampoo hissed softly, and switching over to mandarin. Honestly, she didn't need this right now.  
  
Shampoo, please, just tell me what's wrong, Mousse pleaded in that ever pathetic voice, all the more piteous because he was so much taller than Shampoo, and she knew that he could have easily chained her to the wall just then if he put his mind to it. (Not that she wouldn't have quickly broken out of those chains. but still, it was the principle of the idea.)  
  
She bit her lip as he took off his glasses, his soulful, though slightly blind it was true, brown eyes glittering with worry.  
  
Damn him, she loved his eyes.  
  
She loved them because they spoke of an easier time in life, when she was young in the village, those most popular and skilled little girl, with all of her friends. and Mousse. She and Mousse had always been friends when they were younger, and he hadn't been blind when he was little either, so whenever she looked into his eyes, she thought of her happy childhood before she came to Nerima. It was why she had told him she liked him without his glasses the first time, and it was why she was considering spilling her guts, now.  
  
No matter how many times over she denied it, said that Mousse was nothing to her, lower than scum, weak as a baby. he was sort of her friend. When he had started romantically perusing her, it had created a dramatic rift in that friendship, but Shampoo knew that she could always count on Mousse when push came to shove. Always had been able to when she was back in the village, and would be able to now when it really counted.  
  
That's why she liked Ranma so much; she knew he would always be there for everyone he knew, including herself, just like Mousse would always be there for her. Only thing was, Ranma was way stronger than Mousse . on the other hand, Ranma also seemed to favor saving Akane over everyone else at times.  
  
With all of these thoughts coursing through her head, Shampoo almost felt like just surrendering and telling Mouse everything. from the Plague of Insanity to being a provisional Sailor Scout, to realizing that maybe she was really starting to loose Ranma forever. but she held back. No, she couldn't do that, couldn't allow herself to get closer to Mousse when she knew he loved her with all his heart. It would be leading him on, taking solace in him, when she had to be totally dedicated to Ranma, no matter what. She shook her head once, reaching out to Mousse. His eyes lit up happily as she touched him, frowning once more as he realized it was only to lift his hands with his glasses in them back to his face.  
  
"Keep glasses on," she whispered thickly, before spinning on her heal and zipping upstairs before Mousse had a chance to protest.  
  
*  
  
Whereas Shampoo had wanted to let out her emotional frustrations privately, so that no one could see how deeply disturbed she was, Ukyo had no qualms with loudly storming into the Uchan, making a pained, guttural noise when she saw how messed up it was, and then stomping around it angrily as she tried to sort things out.  
  
It had been hard to remember at first, but when her memories of that entire day had emerged, and finally reared their ugly faces, as no one else's seemed to be doing, she had been even more upset than when she had just been mad that she had caught Ranma and Akane sharing an obviously tender and affectionate moment. Something very uncharacteristic and disturbing for the couple, ten times more disturbing for the young chef. She pulled on her long, straight brown air as she walked in circles, eyes burning with confusion and disbelief. How could her RAN-CHAN be falling for AKANE? She had always known there was the risk that Ranma wouldn't marry her in the end. but to start getting mushy with Akane? The violent tomboy who jumped to conclusions about virtually everything Ranma did? It was preposterous, and it was making Ukyo crazy. SHE was the cute fiancée, the good friend, and how come Ranma hadn't thought about that before he had begun to fall in love with someone else?  
  
Of course, this large revelation, as with Shampoo, wasn't something that had just suddenly hit Ukyo that day. It was a notion that had been building up for many months, and the two fiancées were finally starting to come to grips with, if not only because they had just had a bit of a slap in the face.  
  
When Ukyo let out a despairing cry, and collapsed into a still intact chair with her head in her hands, it was then that Ryoga and Kontatsu*, who had been the process of cleaning up the Uchan, emerged from their protective corner to approach the scorned woman. Kontatsu inched up first, having dealt with the sixteen year olds impressive temper before, and deciding it would be best if he tried to subdue her first.  
  
"Ukyo-sama? Are you okay?" he asked tentatively, wondering if it would be a wise idea to put a comforting hand on her shoulder or not. As Ukyo's head snapped up, a frightening scowl on her face, the cross dressing ninja decided that was a definitely BAD idea, actually. He unconsciously backed up into Ryoga, eyes wide. Something awfully disturbing must have happened! Poor Ukyo-sama.  
  
"No, I'm not! And I'd appreciate it if everyone just left be alone!" she barked, wanting to simply cry until she had sobbed out all of her pain and didn't have to burden Ranma with her anger. she didn't need to be mad at HIM. It wasn't HIS fault; Akane had obviously tricked him. somehow.  
  
"But Ukyo-sama! I'm very worried-!"  
  
"Just GO Kontatsu!" Ukyo wailed, gripping her head, and trying to block his worried words out. She didn't want anyone to pity her! Why did he pity her like that? He always did this!  
  
"Y-yes Ukyo-sama," A slightly broken Kontatsu murmured, hurrying away, and realizing that Ukyo was just in one of her moods. and that it would pass. but it still hurt. Ryoga frowned after the dark haired ninja, clenching his fists.  
  
"Ukyo," he said, seriously, his voice deep and painfully blatant. "I know you're upset about something, but you didn't have to take it out on Kontatsu. It's not HIS fault the Uchan got trashed. In fact, I don't even know how it happened, and I was here the whole time!" Ryoga admitted, folding his arms. Ukyo had been pretty snappy with that poor guy, and Ryoga felt it was his duty to point out that Ukyo was being a bitch.  
  
"That's not what I'm mad about," she ground out, lowering her hands, and taking in deep breathes. It was all just too much. Ritsuko, the curse, her restaurant. everything. "Okay, well maybe it is partially that. but it's other stuff too," she admitted.  
  
"Like?" Ryoga asked, raising an eyebrow. Ukyo looked up at him, her eyes still watering. Well, at least he wasn't pitying her. because she did NOT need to be pitied! She would have Ranma back! And whereas she knew Kontatsu couldn't understand her need to be with Ran-chan, Ryoga just might, if not only because he wanted to be with Akane.  
  
"I. I don't know what to do about Ran-chan. I don't want to let him go.But." Ukyo confessed quietly, standing up so she could look the master of Shi Shi Hokudan in the eye.  
  
"But?" he pressed, his voice caring, but at the same time not too caring. It was the tone of voice Ukyo needed to snap her out of her funk.  
  
"But I think he doesn't want to be with me. I think he likes someone else," Ukyo said, leaving that someone else unnamed. No need to disconcert Ryoga as well. Ryoga snorted contemptuously at her comment.  
  
"Well then screw that butt face! If he doesn't want to be with someone as fun and pretty as you are, who needs him?" he asked shortly.  
  
"Oh. Ryoga." she said, softly. When was the last time someone had complimented her on anything other than her cooking? Did Ryoga realize how flattering he was being? He certainly didn't show it. "But I love him," she decided to protest.  
  
"Why? When was the last time he took you out on a date, told you how special you were, or helped you out? He obviously has other things on his mind," Ryoga huffed, obviously not so much thinking about how great Ukyo was, but at how much he despised Ranma currently, mainly for getting too close to his beloved Akane.  
  
Even though when he said 'other things on his mind', Ukyo knew he was referring to missing important fights that had been prescheduled, or going out and womanizing innocent girls. it had the same effect on her. He had other things on his mind. other people. he was worried about Akane, and thought about her feelings all the time. Noticed them. Not Ukyo's.  
  
"I-I." Ukyo tried, her throat closing up, and a hand going up to her mouth as she tried to process everything. Unwittingly, Ryoga had just told Ukyo possibly some of the most valuable information she could have gotten from anyone else that day. The truth was hard to swallow, but he had nailed it on the head, and had been relentless.  
  
She thanked him for it.  
  
"Oh God Ryoga!" Ukyo cried, throwing herself into the surprised boy's arms. He stood rigid and stunned for a second, glancing cautiously at the pretty girl that had attached herself to his muscular torso. he squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that his nose would cooperate just this once and not start gushing blood all of Ukyo. "I think I've been really wrong. about some things," she admitted, sniffling.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure. you haven't been." Ryoga stuttered cautiously, still not warming up to Ukyo's hug.  
  
"No, but I have." she said, her sniffles converting to all out sobs, as she admitted a lot of things to herself, one of them being she still had a lot of other things to admit. They were just too hard to come to terms with just then.  
  
Now, if there was one thing Ryoga hated, it was a girl crying. So, in an effort to quiet the usually strong Ukyo's wails, he wrapped his arms around her as well, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. His eyes were half lidded as he decided that whoever had made Ukyo cry so much was going to pay. the poor girl was a total innocent, and their was only one person who could be responsible for such a travesty.  
  
Ranma Saotome.  
  
And as Ryoga continued to hold Ukyo to him, mentally conniving a million and one plans to take Ranma down . he didn't noticed a certain ninja, tactfully hidden by the shadows, watching the exchange with a deep, aggrieved frown.  
  
How could this have happened?  
  
*  
  
"Hey Kuno, come look at this!" Nabiki called over to the bokken wielding upperclassman. Kuno turned around, and walked over to the window Nabiki was staring out of. Glancing downwards, he spotted at least fifty, completely random civilians, scratching their heads with general confusion and wandering off the his property, a new collection of wild scrapes and dents littering the Kuno mansion's walls. as though many people had been attacking it... Or trying to push it over.  
  
"Very odd," Kuno conceded. Although, many odd things had just recently happened to him. One minute, he had been lying in his bed, listening to Nabiki review what had happened in class the previous Friday, since he had still been ailed with a violent case of the flu, and the next thing he knew he was in his hall way, a toothbrush in one hand, and a blow- dryer in the other. He had been very puzzled as to just what he was doing, when Nabiki had come skidding around the hall, looking quite distraught indeed, and wearing one of his own robes.  
  
Yeah, he was still a little confused about that one.  
  
And so was Nabiki for that matter, although she didn't mention anything, because most of her answers lied in the possibility that this had to do with Ritsuko and the Sailor Scouts. Call it a gut feeling, but, looking outside, and seeing many people looking just as confused as she had been, not to mention many ruined houses and shops. she knew this was the work of the bad guys.  
  
Nabiki was just glad she had come to give class work to Kuno that day, instead of staying home. Who knows was sort of hell could have been going on THERE if she had been running around in Kuno's robes, HERE? Best not to dwell on it. just be thankful.  
  
Sighing, she turned back around, glancing at Kuno was sitting on the edge of his bed again, still a bit weakened with his flu (MUCH to his chagrin) flipping through the work Nabiki had given him. He took her by surprise, a little, when he glanced up with an almost totally normal and even attractive expression on his face.  
  
"Kuno?" she asked, wondering what was on his mind. He kept looking at her, apparently all thoughts about what a weird day he had just had pushed to the back of his mind. It wasn't as though it was anything NEW really, his life was generally, as a rule, ALWAYS pretty messed up. But this.  
  
"I want to thank you, for bringing me my school work, for all these many days I have been sick," he said in his strong, proper voice. Nabiki sighed, trying not to look uncomfortable at the sudden compliment, and shrugged.  
  
"It's no problem. You're my biggest client, Kuno-baby, and I always bring you your homework when you're sick," she reminded him.  
  
"Yes... and I don't think I've ever really thanked you for it," Kuno said, nodding. And with that eerily NORMAL voice again? Nabiki was confused, this was not the passionate, insane, ranting Kuno-baby she was accustomed to, and his strangely enticing attitude was making her nervous. Enticing? Okay. Time to go.  
  
"Well, like I said, it's no problem," she commented, gathering her things, now that she was changed back into her normal clothes. of which she had found in the microwave down stairs. thankfully uncooked. "And if you're still sick on Monday, I'll bring you you're homework then too,"  
  
"Thank you," Argh!!! Stop it!  
  
"Whatever, see you later Kuno-baby. get better!" she called, dashing out of the room, and deciding that maybe being at her hellish house was better than being in the uncomfortable atmosphere of Kuno's room. It was true, ever since she could remember, whenever he was sick, Nabiki would come over to Kuno's and give him his homework. And when she was sick, (a rare occasion if there ever was one.) Kuno would get the homework, and then give it to Akane to give to her. It was just a cycle that had been going on for a while, and even though she never told anyone she was going over to stay at Kuno's after school everyday. she really hadn't though much of it. It made her slightly edgy that suddenly Kuno did.  
  
'Ha, what am I stressing over? He's head over heals for not only Akane, but his 'pigtailed goddess'!' Nabiki scoffed reassuringly. 'I'll bring him some candid shots of the two tomorrow, and then his mind will be off me!' she decided, wondering why, in the back of her head, a little voice was telling her that she didn't actually mind that Kuno was suddenly paying attention to her. no matter how abrupt it was.  
  
'Whatever, I have to worry about the Sailor Scout crap now, and figure out what happened today!' the Ice Queen of Furiken decided firmly, stalking off back towards her house. hands shaking.  
  
*  
  
By the time Ranma and Akane decided to mosey on back to the house, it was evening. They predicted that Kasumi and Nadoka would probably have thing in order by this time, and that they wouldn't have to deal with much of Soun's hysteric panic attacks.  
  
Ranma had carefully nudged Akane awake, watching regretfully as she raised her head from his lap (Where she had fell after a while of dozing) regretfully admitting that it was six, and they should get back to the house if they wanted dinner. Akane had to admit, after her nap she was starving, so she followed Ranma out of the playground, eyes widening as he clasped her hand in his while he traveled. A blush spread over her features, and a small smile reappeared on her face. Ranma looked distinctly embarrassed, but pleased he had had the guts to pull that one off.  
  
And now they were a mere block away from home, chatting lightly and wondering what to tell the folks when they questioned them about where they had been, and why they didn't have the supplies for dinner after all this time.  
  
"It's not like anyone will care if we were out together all day," Ranma pointed out, thinking of their slightly obsessive fathers.  
  
"Point," Akane laughed, amazed she was talking this light heartedly with her fiancée, but loving every minute of it. Was this how things were always supposed to be? "We're probably the only couple in the world whose parents REALLY want them to be together all the time." She added jovially.  
  
"Couple." Ranma breathed, stopping in front of the house, and looking down at the smaller girl in surprise. Akane bit her lip, realizing what she'd just let slip out. a not yet voiced wish, a silent hope. she averted her gaze, blushing some more.  
  
"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say. I mean I did I just-"  
  
"Hey! Akane." Ranma said, squeezing her hand, and making her look back up at him. He hated it when she got all quiet and demure, and was no longer the strong tomboy he loved. That was what he admired about her, after all. Her fire! Her confidence. No matter that he called her a stubborn mule. He never really meant anything he called her. "I liked it. the way you put it. couple," he confirmed, a bit uneasily himself. Akane looked stunned for a beat, before letting out a sigh of relief and throwing her arms around him.  
  
"Good." She said firmly. "Because I would have been pretty angry if you didn't," Ranma smiled now too. That was his Akane.  
  
Pulling her away from him, on impulse, Ranma looked down into her eyes, and suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to do. and for the first time in his life, wasn't worried about what Akane was going to think. Because he already knew.  
  
Akane let out a small gasp as Ranma leaned down to kiss her, and jumped slightly. But soon she found that it wasn't so bad, this kissing, and returned the boy's sentiments in full, leaning into the kiss and slowly closing her eyes. Ranma bravely put his arms around her waist, and Akane braced her hands on his chest. This felt so right. Why hadn't they tried it before, besides that one time on the roof? Why had they been so dead against it?  
  
They were both starting to wonder how long they could keep this up without coming up for air. when a distinct 'Ahem' sounded off from the side.  
  
"Eeep!" the couple gasped, snapping apart, and starting to run out of ways to blush. Happy with the position their relationship was in now or not, they weren't totally positive if they were okay with being caught passionately kissing in front of their house. They would have to talk about that one.  
  
Luckily, the person, or rather, people, who had interrupted the two was no one terribly important. It wasn't a fiancée who would have undoubtedly gone into a blind rage and hurled themselves at the couple, it wasn't Nabiki there to take some shots, and it wasn't any parents, eager for the wedding and . grandchildren. It was just two random freaks, and that was better than someone they actually knew any day.  
  
"Um, hello." Ranma offered, raising an eyebrow at the male and female standing a few feet away from he and Akane. What did these two think they were doing, breaking up the kiss? He had been enjoying that! Suddenly, looking at the man, who had jarringly familiar silver hair. something clicked. "And- waitasecond! You're the dude from before!" Ranma exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Artemis, still wearing that vivid white suit.  
  
"And you're the woman from my dream, all those nights ago, before I became a scout!" Akane added, looking at the dark haired woman, and recognizing her by her vibrant yellow dress. The woman seemed amused by this, giggling lightly.  
  
"Akane. it's me! Luna!" Luna said, her voice definitely matching the cats.  
  
"But-but Luna you're supposed to be a cat!" Akane pointed out, frowning. What was this? Some sort of trick?  
  
"Luna and I have human forms as well," Artemis explained, putting a hand on Luna's shoulder.  
  
"Artemis?" Akane questioned, recognizing the feline's voice.  
  
"The one and only," he joked.  
  
"Heyyy. how come you were in my room the other night?" Ranma asked, narrowing his eyes accusingly at Artemis, who suddenly looked a little nervous.  
  
"You were in his room last night?" Luna asked Artemis sharply, staring up at him. Artemis made a protective motion with his hands, and mumbled out some pretty lame sounding excuses. Akane and Ranma traded skeptical glances. Riiight.  
  
"I told you not to involve him before, but you went ahead and tried it anyway, didn't you?" Luna asked, folding her arms censoriously.  
  
"But. but look how it turned out!" Artemis said, motioning to Ranma.  
  
"But what if it hadn't?!"  
  
"But it did!"  
  
"Honestly Art, sometimes I just want to-"  
  
"Hey! Luna! Artemis! Get a grip!" Akane interrupted, coming between the arguing pair. "Could you please just tell us what you want, so I can go inside? I'm sort of really hungry and tired," At Akane's words, Luna's expression softened.  
  
"Of course Akane, I understand. And.first off, I'd really like to congratulate you on doing what you did to Ritsuko- good job!" the guardian gushed, obviously very proud of her newly acquired student.  
  
"Yes Akane, great work. And you too Ranma," Artemis added, nodding in the boy's direction, and apparently forgiving him for all past qualms. Like that time he had refused to help the scouts and had kicked him out of his room.  
  
"Thanks," Ranma and Akane said in unison, nodding their heads.  
  
"Really Ranma, we wanted to thank you so much for doing all that you could when this isn't even your job. or Akane's for that matter," Luna sighed, folding her arms. "And seeing as how you two worked well together, and were able to conjure the moon wand, a feat we had previously deemed impossible by someone who wasn't a true scout. Artemis and I have decided to invite you to be on the team," she admitted, looking Ranma in his deep blue eyes.  
  
Well, it had never occurred to Ranma that he WASN'T going to be in on all this Sailor Scout business now that he knew Akane was a part of it; he wasn't going to let her do this alone. But now that he had been officially requested to join, it felt a lot better, he had to admit.  
  
"Cool, I'm in," he replied simply, nodding.  
  
"Oh, sure, you agree when SHE asks you, but when it's ME-" Artemis growled, folding his arms, and nearly choking on his tongue when Luna elbowed him hard in the ribs.  
  
"Well, thank you again kids for all of your cooperation," Luna sighed, signaling that the two could go back home now and get some sleep. She was surprised they weren't counting sheep already- the old Sailor Moon ALWAYS fainted after she did practically anything.  
  
"It's no problem Luna, but. I have one question," Akane admitted.  
  
"What is it dear?" Luna asked.  
  
"Well. if you two could turn into humans this whole time, how come you didn't do it before if you knew it made Ranma so crazy?" she asked blatantly. Ranma suddenly got a speculative look on his face as well, glimpsing expectantly at Luna and Artemis.  
  
"Because we wanted to see him SQUIRM," Artemis cackled evilly, before getting elbowed yet again by his long time partner.  
  
"ACTUALLY, the thing is, without our princess around to supply us with power, it's very hard to convert to these forms, or even stay in them. We only do it when it's truly necessary, and since Art and I have officially decided to let Ranma on board, we decided this qualified as one of those times." She explained. Akane and Ranma nodded their heads in understanding, sniggering as Luna dragged Artemis off. Wow, they had no idea Luna could be so domineering! "Well, bye kids, see you later! We'll be holding another meeting tomorrow!."  
  
"Bye," Ranma and Akane called together, waving as both guardians disappeared in a barrage of flower petals and light, going to wherever it was they stayed when they weren't with the scouts.  
  
Ranma turned back to Akane, heaving a sigh. Akane smiled wryly at him, shaking her head.  
  
"Pretty weird, hu?" she asked.  
  
"Ah, no more weird than everything else that happens here," Ranma pointed out, chuckling somberly.  
  
"Guess that's true," Akane sighed, turning to head into the house now, with Ranma doing that thing where he held her hand.and made her feel all happy inside.  
  
"Shall we?" Ranma asked, opening the door to the Tendou's home, and giving a smile he now reserved only for his girlfriend now. a smile that made her melt every time.  
  
"We shall,"  
  
*  
  
In the darkness, the one who had observed everyone that day, from that little Amazon girl and her blind friend, to Sailor Moon and her sex- changing beau, cackled softly, dancing from foot to foot happily. Ritsuko had been very right to give him this job! He knew just what to do with this group! Just what to do!  
  
Slinking out of the shadows (it was so much easier to move around at night, when most of the lights had retreated for the day.) Miji hobbled around the street, a broad smile on his distorted face, his body still very solid now, thanks to all of the chaotic emotions Ritsuko had so kindly dished to him earlier with her spell. He had to get started on his plan if he wanted it to be in affect by tomorrow, yes he did. Ritsuko said to drag his plot out for as long as he could, since she needed to heal, and if everything went according to plan, tomorrow would be excruciatingly long for the scouts and their loved ones indeed.  
  
*  
  
*Kontatsu- Is that how you spell it? I really have no idea.  
  
* Author's Notes: Okay, I just wrote this entire thing in four hours. FOUR HOURS. That's a long time to be sitting down. but since I'm ill with a cold it's okay. I don't have anything better to do anyway. PLEASE review this chapter guys, I need some encouragement! Sorry this was so utterly not funny, but next chapter is not going to be overly better. Everything was so WAFFY! Not to mention this one was short. Next chapter won't be short. So that's good. I think. Anyway, happy holidays if you celebrate, and have a nice day!  
  
Rio Grande~ 


	9. A Slap In The Face

Hey all!  
  
Hmm. I guess last chapter was confusing. I mean, first off, nobody thought they could read it! Which is always a drawback. And just to assure everyone, you actually could. (I know most people figured it out, but to those who didn't, here's the explanation.) The second posting of 'Taking a Step Back' was the real one, thus the 'real' in front of it, and the first one was just a mess up I was scared to remove. But now it's gone! I got up the nerve and deleted it, so all is good!  
  
Not to mention, the whole chapter was pretty WAFFY and sad and crud like that, unlike my usual plain old silliness. But hey, what are you going to do? I think the fic needed it, and I'm personally very pleased with the way that chapter turned out, Shampoo's little scene in particular.  
  
I think this chapter is a bit more amusing than the previous one, but, on the other hand, maybe not. As long as we're delving into people's emotions it might stay a little dramatic, so who knows. It all depends on how you look at it. In any case, I don't own Ranma ½ or Sailor Moon, and enjoy the chapter!  
  
Reviewwwww. PLEAAASEE.  
  
*  
  
Warning: What you are about to read is not only completely random and confusing, but a bit scary. Well, not really scary. I'm not so good at writing scary. But it's creepy in any case, and you're going to be quite lost. Just thought you should all be forewarned. it's only polite.  
  
*  
  
Partial Eclipse  
  
By Rio Grande  
  
Chapter Eight: A Slap In The Face.  
  
*  
  
Akane awoke with the feeling that something was not right.  
  
Which was really quite disappointing because when she had gone to sleep the last night she had assumed she would wake up feeling happy and all warm and mushy inside. You know, how most people feel when they've just recently discovered that the person they've been secretly in love with for around two years in fact loves them back.  
  
But no, the first thing the seventeen year old felt as the bright morning rays hit her skin, and her deep chocolate brown eyes slowly slid open. was that she was sleeping in the wrong bed.  
  
This was completely false since she found, upon further inspection, that she was lying in the same bed she had been since she was ten years old and had purchased this bed with Nabiki because she simply couldn't fit into her old one anymore. This realization was baffling, since she definitely had felt as though she were lying on a foreign mattress just a few seconds before.  
  
Well, putting that aside, the girl really did feel as though there was something amiss with the world around her, and so she was a bit more cautious as she padded down the stairs that Sunday morning. Everything seemed to be the same as usual. her house looked just as it always had, right down to the various sloppy repair jobs on the ceiling. Nothing smelled off, and there were no strangers lurking around her halls. It was just this gut feeling she had that was particularly unnerving, and left her hair standing on end. She shuddered lightly as she reached the kitchen, after drifting through the vacant dining room.  
  
Where was Kasumi?  
  
The woman was always there on Sunday mornings, merrily whipping up breakfast, no matter what the conditions outside her tiled sanctuary were, and it made everything that much more odd that she was absent. Akane licked her dry lips, for the first time noticing that the usual morning ruckus was also missing, and that, in fact, it felt as though the house were empty. Rarely a good sign.  
  
"Hello?" Akane called to no one in particular. When she got no response, the pretty girl frowned and shuffled into the dining room, willing to give it another go.  
  
"Hello?" Nothing. She migrated over to the basement entrance.  
  
"Hello?" No response. She traveled around to the staircase.  
  
"Hello?" Nope. The upstairs hallway.  
  
"Hello?" Nada. The bathroom.  
  
"Hello?" When no one replied to the teen's call this time, she gave off an angry huff and decided that the house must really be empty. But. it was only eight A.M! Where could they have gone off to? And if the family really had left, why didn't they tell her about it, or at least leave a note?  
  
'Darn, and for the first time in my life I had been looking forward to seeing Ranma, too,' the love struck girl reminisced, sighing and exiting the bathroom after quickly brushing her teeth. What was she going to do all today if everyone had all gone off and left her? See Yuka and Sayuri? Sure she had some homework, but truthfully she was still a little tense and hyper from saving the world yesterday, so.  
  
"Akane."  
  
"Eeek!" the girl squeaked, spinning on her heal, and coming face to face with her fiancée. "Ranma!" she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, and letting out a long sigh. "Oh, it's just you. You scared me! Where have you been? I was calling all over the house but no one replied so I thought you'd all left-" Akane stopped in mid sentence as Ranma put a finger to her lips to silence her. She stared questioningly up at him, thinking vaguely that there was something wrong with his eyes, usually so twinkling and mischievous. They seemed . different somehow. She couldn't put her finger on it, but suddenly found she didn't need to seeing as he was leaning in to kiss her, and she really wanted to kiss him back on account of she had just brushed her teeth. Not to mention she simply loved kissing this boy. Her fiancée. Her Ranma. Did he think of her as his Akane?  
  
She closed her eyes quickly and gently kissed him back, still a bit hesitant about doing much more. She was new to all this, and wouldn't deny the fact that she was rather afraid she would do something wrong and mess the whole interaction up, loosing everything she had just received. Ranma, however, seemed much more secure with the situation.  
  
He swiftly wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned into the kiss, his tongue running rampant around her mouth, as she realized with a start that if he hadn't been holding on she probably would have lost the power to stand long ago. How had it come to this? Since when did Ranma confront her outside the bathroom in the mornings, and then initiate a hot make out session with hardly any of his usual stuttering and hesitation? She had no idea why things had evolved so fast since she became a temporary Sailor Scout, but Akane had to admit, she was enjoying it.  
  
"Akane," Ranma whispered, pulling away from her, to stare down at her flushed face.  
  
"Y-yeah?" she replied, trying desperately to organize her thoughts so that she didn't start doing something stupid, like drooling. God, she loved this!  
  
"You're an ugly tomboy."  
  
There was an awkward and extended pause, where the couple stood silently and stared at one another, the distance sound of crickets chirping in the background all that could be heard.  
  
Wait. No. wasn't how it was supposed to go. Akane blinked in confusion. Had she misheard him?  
  
That was just about when Ranma's fist connected swiftly with her stomach, and the shocked girl doubled over, falling onto her butt while clutching her throbbing middle tightly.  
  
And the only thought coursing through her mind as she stared up at the handsome man who stood threateningly above her prone form while she tried to get her breath back, tears leaking out of her eyes without her permission. was that.  
  
He had never hit her before.  
  
*  
  
Ukyo awoke to the sound of something rattling the very foundations of her restaurant.  
  
She had no idea why she was lying on the floor of her (still rather trashed.) restaurant when consciousness welcomed her back to the world of the living, nor why it sounded as though there was a monster truck fight going on outside. but she wasn't very happy about any of it.  
  
'I didn't get drunk last night with Ryoga. did I?' she wondered vaguely, getting to her feet, fully dressed, and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. 'I don't think so. I don't feel as though I have a hangover. but something is definitely off,' she decided, casting a weary eye around the Uchan. However, she found nothing out of the usual. Unless you consider a partially demolished restaurant, with the plaster dangling from the ceiling, tables sticking out of the walls from where they were violently hurled, and a lot of food products smothered around the vicinity, unusual. To Ukyo, it was currently her life, and it was going to take probably all day to fix. Most likely all of tomorrow as well, knowing her luck.  
  
"God, won't they just shut up?!" Ukyo growled, completely fed up with whomever it was creating all of that noise just outside her restaurant, and giving up on trying to figure out what she was doing on sleeping on the floor of the Uchan. She probably didn't really want to know anyway. God. You know it's bad when you stop caring about things like where you wake up each morning.  
  
Stomping over to the door, and throwing it open in what she hoped was an intimidating way, Ukyo glared daggers at the ruckus makers outside her shop.  
  
"HEY! YOU! Guys! Would you stop.stop. Oh my God." The brunette trailed off with her emerald eyes widening considerably, hands clenched at her sides observed the scene before her with what could only be described as morbid fascination.  
  
Ryoga and Ranma were going at it head to head, right in front of the Uchan. They were throwing themselves ferociously at each other with not so much a show of skill as a show of brute strength, giving out heart stopping war cries, the expressions on their faces carnal in nature. Around them, the entire street looked like a war zone, and there was blood covering the boy's bodies like a lace blanket. It dripped down their arms, got in their eyes, and spurted out of open wounds scattering their forms. This didn't seem to slow them down, however, as they continued to battle noisily over an unknown dispute.  
  
"R-Ran-chan?" Ukyo tried, hesitantly calling out to her two male friends. This scene was too gruesome to look at for much longer. She felt as though she had stumbled upon the set of a horror film. Sure, Ranma and Ryoga fought. but this wasn't fighting! This was killing! It was like nothing she had ever seen between the two, and was having a hard time swallowing it. "Ryoga?" she tried, lifting one hand out as if trying to touch the two figures as they blasted their way around the street.  
  
Now Ukyo was positive something was very wrong. And it wasn't just because she couldn't for the life of her remember where she fell asleep. It was because this whole scenario was very peculiar, and even more disturbing. Something about it just felt off. But now wasn't the time to think about such things...  
  
Abruptly, the two fighters fell to the ground in lazy crouches, panting and shaking, eyes narrowed into slits. Ukyo collapsed to her knees in front of the Uchan and continued to stare at the duo with her mouth hanging open. What did they think they were doing? Why were they fighting like this!? Didn't they know they could die with those wounds they had inflicted?  
  
"Ukyo," Ryoga said, his head snapping over in her direction, and causing the breath to get caught in the surprised chef's throat. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"S-stop." Ukyo tried, feeling the tears spill out of her eyes as she watched Ryoga stare at her with a long gash down his cheekbone, and a fatal looking wound on his abdomen, still freely pouring blood. She had to save him!. dear Ryoga who had, just the other night, comforted her when she had been struggling to come to terms with Ranma, and his relationship with her. Ryoga who had been such a good friend!  
  
"You can't have us both U-chan," Ranma said, in a voice that should have been damaged from the slash across his neck, but was surprisingly strong and piercing. Ukyo shook her head, clearly confused.  
  
"C-choose?" she croaked, crawling towards the boys, wincing as she sloshed across puddles of blood and scraps of cars that had been torn apart. This was unreal. It was a nightmare.  
  
"You know you have to let me go," Ranma continued, standing up, and shifting into a fighting stance, as Ryoga nodded his head gravely in agreement, and did the same. Seeing that they were about to start back up again, Ukyo recovered from her shock long enough to jump to her feet and let out a string of curses, followed by a much more understandable sentence.  
  
"What do you think you're doing, fighting like this, you'll get yourselves killed!" Ranma and Ryoga didn't seem to acknowledge this fact though, and they didn't rip their gaze away from their opponent as they prepared to commence the fight once more. "Why are you fighting!? What's going on!?" Ukyo screamed, now thoroughly distraught, and confused beyond belief.  
  
"Can you let go of Ranma long enough to consider someone else?" Ryoga questioned quietly, just before he launched towards Ranma, arms moving in a tornado of punches and jabs, lips curled back into a snarl. Ranma met his attack with a counter of his own, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his body wouldn't be able to take much more of this abuse.  
  
Ukyo looked on in shock, the wind whipping her hair around her head, trying to figure out what Ryoga was attempting to get across. What did choosing someone over Ran-chan have to do with any of this? It didn't matter anyway, if these to didn't stop this quarreling soon, she wouldn't HAVE anyone to choose, anyway.  
  
*  
  
Nabiki awoke to the smell of flowers, feeling a bit startled when she realized she was clutching a bouquet of them.  
  
Things only went downhill from there as she found herself to not only be holding a bouquet, but to be sitting in a pew, surrounded by finely dressed people, listening to an organ playing, in a chapel, with an assembly of nervous looking men wearing black tuxedos standing at the front of the room.  
  
She was, apparently, attending a wedding.  
  
'Right. Wait. When did I get here? And whom do I know who is getting married? Definitely not someone in my family,' the eighteen year old recalled, abruptly discovering that it, indeed, couldn't be someone in her family, seeing as both of her sister's were sitting on either side of her, expectant smiles plastered onto their faces, and the day her father remarried was the day Akane learned how to cook. So who.  
  
'Kuno.' Nabiki mentally deadpanned, looking at the flustered groom, waiting impatiently by the priest. He looked almost. dashing in that tuxedo, and endearing with that nervous expression etched on his features.  
  
But, why was she getting this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thought of Kuno getting married to someone.  
  
Else.  
  
Desperate to get her mind of that disturbing thought, Nabiki turned to Akane, and tapped the oblivious girl on the shoulder. Akane, wearing a puffy pink dress, and looking simply too too happy to be at this wedding, turned to Nabiki.  
  
"What is it?" she whispered. "Can't you not wait for the ceremony to begin?" she continued, giggling quietly.  
  
"Um. I guess not. But, would you mind telling me how I got here?" Nabiki said flatly, eye twitching lightly as she discovered she was wearing an equally as poofy blue dress, and it was rather itchy.  
  
"Well, we walked! You remember, don't you?" Akane said, cocking her head curiously.  
  
"Nope. Don't recall that in the slightest. But while we're on this subject, would you mind informing me of whom Kuno is-"  
  
"Shhh! It's starting! Look, here they come!" Akane said, apparently unconcerned with her elder sister's sudden bout of amnesia, and far more focused on the bride. Everyone around the (shaking, but she'd rather die then let it show.) Nabiki swiftly got to their feet and turned their heads to the grand oak door at the back of the chapel. The organ struck up the traditional wedding tune, and Nabiki found herself looking at the door with all of the other wedding goers, many of whom she recognized from around town, slightly eager to know who exactly Kuno was going to wed.  
  
The first person to come down the isle was Cologne. She wore a pretty little dress, and held a basket of flowers. She bore a silly little smile, and her hair was placed in a high ponytail. She skipped along her merry way to the priest, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. Since when did 200-year-old women get to be flower girls? Nabiki stopped thinking about this just long enough to catch the next couple make their way into the room. Immediately she noticed it was Kodachi. She was holding onto Ryoga's arm, (Who was, for once, not having any nosebleed problems whatsoever.) and wearing a frilly yellow dress with many sparkles adorning it. Ryoga wore a tuxedo and a broad smile, stepping forward bravely, and making way for the next person to come down the isle. the bride.  
  
It was Ranko.  
  
Nabiki would have started slamming her head against the pew, but she decided that it would probably draw too much attention to her, and right now she really just wanted to crawl away and be some place where she could be alone for a while. What in the seven hells was going on here, and why was Ranma female, while wearing a long silk wedding gown?  
  
"Ohh, doesn't she look pretty?" Kasumi gushed, putting a hand to her cheek, eyes sparkling.  
  
"Don't you mean he?" Nabiki hissed, rubbing her temples. She had a horrible feeling this was all somehow related to the Sailor Scout crud she had been enduring lately, but just couldn't understand how. She had no idea how this scenario related to demons and talking cats, but was willing to place the blame on them all anyway.  
  
"Why, no I don't. She doesn't look male to you, does she?" Kasumi asked, generally curious, as Genma led Ranko to her future husband. Kuno. Right. Kuno.  
  
Nabiki was still a bit distressed, for reasons unknown to her, over the fact that Kuno was about to be married. Not that she LIKED the guy or anything it was just. well, it would be weird, to have Kuno-baby be married. It would disrupt the entire careful balance that was Nerima, and Nabiki didn't like that idea. It had to be stopped. Quickly.  
  
Inspiration struck her.  
  
"Akane!" Nabiki gasped, rounding on her sister, and pointing at her in an accusatory manner. "Aren't you bothered by the fact that Ranma's about to be married to Kuno?!" Surly the stubborn tomboy would never stand for something like THIS happening right in front of her! Why, in fact, hadn't she tried to stop this lunatic marriage before?!  
  
"But, Nabiki you know I'm already seeing someone else. Ranma and I are long over." The girl explained casually, as Ranko reached Kuno, and lovingly took his hands in hers. It made Nabiki sick. "Shampoo and I have been going steady for over three months already!" Akane continued jovially, as the Amazon herself waved to Nabiki from behind the youngest Tendou. This fact alone made Nabiki's heart stop for a second, but she quickly turned away from the whole disturbing scene, trying to clear her thoughts.  
  
Dammit, why was she so freaked out? Why was she so worried? She could be making millions off this wedding right now! Fuck, it was probably the marriage of the century, and here she was simply fretting over the fact that she didn't really approve of the couple! That she didn't really want to have. Kuno leave her, permanently.  
  
Sure, she had never intended to really ask Kuno out in all the years she had spent with him, the guy was insane, but just the fact that he was, and probably always would be, free, had seemed comforting to the girl. She had never realized just how comforting until now, when it seemed as though he was slipping away from her most unexpectedly.  
  
'Something is wrong here. and I have to stop this wedding before it gets any worse,' Nabiki decided firmly. She wouldn't let things end this way. Even if she didn't belong with Kuno, there were more relationships being destroyed just then, expensive ones that had to be salvaged. Honestly, Shampoo and Akane!? What the fuck?  
  
Since it was obvious that Akane wasn't going to lend a helping hand here, Nabiki searched around the room for more people who would be morally offended by this ceremony and would willingly fight tooth and nail to make it stop. Nabiki's eyes narrowed into happy little slits as she spotted just who was standing in front of her, wearing a soft green gown.  
  
"Oh Ukyo." she purred into the girl's ear.  
  
"Why, hello Nabiki," Ukyo, apparently in the same, rather high state of mind that everyone else at this wedding seemed to be in, chirped. "You want something? I think the priest is about to start, so."  
  
"Ukyo! What are you saying? How can you let your. your. one and only be taken away from you like this! Doesn't it disturb you that Ranma is about to become permanently female?" Nabiki hissed desperately.  
  
"I think the girl's allowed to make her own decision about the matter. It's her life, after all." Ukyo stated frankly, giving Nabiki an infuriating condescending look. "Really, why are you so freaked about this? You were all right with it last night."  
  
"I. changed my mind," Nabiki grated, unable to understand that Ukyo was simply giving up like this. That she supported her fiancée becoming female and marrying a man. A mentally deranged man, no less. A mentally deranged man that she, Nabiki, maybe, perhaps, it was a possibility. liked. Had a small crush on.  
  
'And I think UKYO'S off her rocker.' the short haired girl grumped, watching the ceremony begin with something akin to a shell shocked expression on her features.  
  
She watched the priest's lips move soundlessly, taking everything in, and unable to access the little alarm that was going off in the back of her head, insisting that something was seriously wrong with the place she was in then, and that she should just try to leave, and pretend none of this happened. she was just too. freaked out to listen to her mental alarm. It didn't seem half as important as what was going on in reality, anyway.  
  
However, the girl's interest was peaked when the priest got to the always infamous bit about 'Speaking now or forever holding your peace', and the romantic part of her brain (a very, very small part that sometimes you had to search around a bit before finding.) suddenly found it couldn't resist. Sucking in a deep breath, Nabiki belatedly remembered she had a reputation as an Ice Queen she had to uphold as she uttered two words that came out far louder than she had intended them to.  
  
"I OBJECT!"  
  
"What?" The priest asked, looking honestly confused as not only he, but indeed the entire room turned simultaneously to stare at the girl who dare interrupt this holly ritual. Nabiki felt the heat rise to her neck as she met Ranko's piercing stare that seemed to say 'What are you doing?' Hell, what WAS she doing? She hadn't even admitted to herself yet that her feelings for Kuno ran deeper than 'like', an impossibly childish term, and here she was breaking up his wedding!  
  
"What is the meaning of this?!" Kuno himself boomed, placing Ranko behind him, and suddenly whipping out a boken he had been keeping somewhere on his person. Where exactly, Nabiki wasn't sure, however she was positive of the fact that she didn't like the way Kuno was pointing the sword at her. "Nabiki Tendo, state your intentions!" the boy continued, marching down the isle to stand importantly in front of Nabiki's pew. Kasumi made a scared little sound, and edged out of the way, so that Kuno had total access to her doomed little sister.  
  
"I-I just don't understand." Nabiki admitted in a confused tone, hoping to find something other than rage in the groom's own eyes, but finding nothing helpful.  
  
"Don't understand what? The fact that you just interfered with the holy joining of Ranko and myself? Or the fact that I love her, as I could never love a cold, emotionless person as yourself?" His words were harsh and uncaring, Nabiki wincing as she listened to his speech, which hit a little too close to home. "Well, which is it Tendo? Speak up!"  
  
"I don't know! I don't know why I did what I did, or why I feel what I feel. I just do! Why is this happening?!" Nabiki cried, so uncharacteristically that a few people gasped at her proclamation. Nabiki let out a growl of frustration and clutched her head, quickly letting go of it and looking up at Kuno as he chopped into the wooden pew, splintering the seat just next to her. Nabiki sucked in a gasp as she watched the rich boy snap his weapon out of the destroyed pew, and continue to glare at her. What was he.  
  
"Nabiki Tendo, you have been found guilty of hiding your emotions and being an overall bitch. Prepare to face the consequences." Kuno said in a voice that was very unlike his own, raising the boken above his head dramatically, preparing to swing down and crush Nabiki's head, while none of the onlookers around her, not even her own family, protested.  
  
Nabiki stared up at the falling sword miserably, distantly wondering if she should even bother to dodge. Was what Kuno said true? Was she really the conniving bitch people thought she was, was she truly hiding her emotions just to keep up appearances? She had never really thought much about how other people felt when she blackmailed them or put them in humiliating situations so she could make some money. Suddenly, she was thinking about it a whole lot more.  
  
Dodging the boken didn't really seem that important anymore.  
  
*  
  
Shampoo awoke to the feeling of something being thrust firmly into her hands, and to the sensation that she was standing.  
  
This, as it turned out, wasn't actually a sensation, since she was really doing it, and in addition, someone really was thrusting an object into her hands. Upon opening her eyes, she found it to be a set of bonbouris. Her favorite ones that she always used when about to launch herself into an important battle, that was potentially fatal. She took this as a bad omen as she continued to inspect her surroundings groggily.  
  
How had she gotten here? She was standing in a vacant lot she knew to be only a few blocks away from the Nekohattan, and she stood in the middle of it now, the distant sound of the wind blowing through the empty space, and the haunting whistle that accompanied it the only sound she could perceive. Except for.  
  
"Shampoo, you have failed the village." Cologne. She was talking to her, standing a few feet away, balancing on that staff of hers, and wearing one of her more serious expressions. The one that had always encouraged the warrior girl to listen. She found this task notably hard to do as she tried valiantly to wake up, shivering slightly as she found herself only to be wearing a short sleeved, red silk shirt and matching peddle pushers. Her feet were covered in the traditional black slippers she always wore, and her long purple hair whipped around her face as bright eyes focused on her great grandmother intently, trying to mentally sort everything out.  
  
"You did not fulfill your mission to wed, and bring back to the tribe, the male Ranma Saotome." These words, piercing through Shampoo's hazy fog of consciousness, made the girl suck in a pained breath. Suddenly the world began to revolve around Cologne, and only Cologne as Shampoo's fate it appeared seemed to hang on the old woman's every word. "As punishment, I have." Shampoo bit her lip, wondering what could possibly be the punishment for failing to effectively enamor her aireen. Another curse? Banishment from the Amazons? Being degraded to the level of an unworthy MALE?! ". Decided to honor Mousse's request, in the pursuit of your hand in marriage,"  
  
Shampoo paused, blinked, and cocked her head. That was it? As punishment for not marrying Ranma she had to marry. Mousse? While a large part of her was encouraging her to recoil in disgust and put up a big fight about the deal, another part of her was taking a different approach to the situation. One part of her rather. liked the idea. Hey. It could have been worse. Mousse loved her with all his heart, and now that she had no obligation to be with Ranma.  
  
Shaking these crazy thoughts from her head quickly, Shampoo bowed her head ashamedly for Cologne, showing the proper degree of embarrassment at having lost Ranma. Not that it was a particularly large shock. She had already accepted the fact that something binding was being formed between Ranma and Akane, and had already prophesized that their inevitable marriage would come to pass no matter what she did. The fact that Cologne had already accepted it without much hassle was probably a blessing more than a curse.  
  
I am sorry Great-Grandmother. Shampoo said softly in mandarin, genuflecting, and really putting her heart into it. Giving up on Ranma, no matter that she was more and more feeling less love for him, and more distant adoration, was a big loss. She had been working very hard to get him for a very long time, and admitting that the fight was over felt surprisingly like having a large burden being taken off her weary shoulders. But. shouldn't she feel remorse, and not relief? How odd.  
  
"Mousse has conceded to following the proper Amazon ritual for marriage, and will presently battle you for your hand. If he succeeds, you will marry him, and come back to the village his wife. If you beat him, you will go back to the village simply being the current disgrace you are." When Shampoo's head was not raised, Cologne continued in a more causal manner. "You should be thankful great-granddaughter. The elders are being particularly lenient with you."  
  
I am thankful. Shampoo replied simply, finally standing straight once more. And she was. Cologne looked satisfied, and quickly let her gaze travel beyond Shampoo, to a person waiting patiently in the back of the lot, their hands wrapped in their long white robes.  
  
"Mousse." Cologne called, slowly hobbling away. "She is ready," Shampoo turned to stare at Mousse, looking particularly grim, all alone in his robes, long raven hair flying about him, eyebrows knitted together. He was wearing his glasses so Shampoo couldn't see his eyes, but suddenly. she didn't want to. She felt as though everything that was happening was unreal, and that there was something especially odd about the whole deal. If she saw Mousse's eyes, it would only be more proof, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to accept that yet.  
  
As Mousse approached the pretty teen, Shampoo began to frown as well, clutching her large bonbouris tight, so that her knuckles turned pearly white. Who did he think he was, challenging her like this? He would never be her husband; Ranma had been the only male worthy of her love! And now that he was gone, she would never be with any other man. Mousse must know this, and Shampoo wouldn't him forget it. She couldn't let the compassionate part of her have full reign just now, she couldn't risk it, and couldn't afford to give Mousse any adoration either.  
  
"You will not defeat Shampoo, Mousse!" Shampoo declared bravely, shifting into a fighting stance with her weapons, as Mousse stopped casually a few feet away from her, hands still hidden in his robes. Shampoo narrowed her eyes at those robes. she knew they hid from her view much more than his hands.  
  
'There's no way stupid Mousse can beat me. I know all of his techniques, and there's no way he can hope to defeat me with them!' Shampoo mentally decided, a grim smile slipping onto her face. And as, from the sidelines, Cologne announced that the fight was to start, the girl charged forward confidently, self-assurance radiating off her. Pathetic Mousse.  
  
"Yaaaa!" Shampoo cried as she zipped towards the tall man, swiping low for his legs, and hoping to bring him to his knees quickly and not draw this battle out. Idiot or no, she didn't want to watch Mousse suffer. He didn't deserve that, especially since she was about to totally humiliate him. Ah well, it was his own fault, after all...  
  
However, Shampoo's self assurance was quickly shattered as Mousse seemed to disappear right before her eyes, bonbouri's connecting with empty air. The girl quickly regained her bearings after a moment's confusion, sensing something above her. Head snapping upwards, she saw to her surprise Mousse descending upon her with the skill of a cat, leg extended. Before the girl was able to effectively roll out of the way, Mousse delivered a kick to her chest on his way down, causing Shampoo to skid along the ground before coming to a stop with a shocked look on her face. He had. landed a hit? Seriously? She sat up swiftly, wincing as she felt a trickle of blood make its way down her back. Everything stung lightly, but it did little to stop her as she struck up a fighting stance once more, eyes far more sharp and mistrustful. What had that just been? Since when could Mousse actually land a hit on her?  
  
"You been training," Shampoo accused as she recommenced the fight, letting out a flurry of swift and powerful jabs with her bonbouri's, a little less merciful than previously, but still refusing to go all out on this man. On this man who had once been her dear friend. and was now something else all together. A species of friend she could not properly classify without delving into a lot of touchy subjects.  
  
"Is that bad?" Mousse asked in all honestly, moving very slightly to avoid Shampoo's attacks as she continued to swipe at him, facial expression rarely changing as not one hit got in. It was rather creepy.  
  
"You been training A LOT," Shampoo realized with a start, halting her barrage of attacks while panting lightly. And in that one moment of innocent hesitation, where the Amazon found herself to be truly baffled by Mousse's sudden skill level, the man made his move. Darting forward, his hands finally emerged from his robes, both holding a length of chain, movement graceful and controlled as the chains whipped forward and wrapped around Shampoo's bonbouri's. The girl made a little squeaking sound as the two weapons were ripped from her hands, and slammed backwards onto the ground behind Mousse, still connected to his chains. They cracked into the pavement with a sickening slam, Shampoo crying out in alarm as they were both split open before her eyes.  
  
Biting her lip, Shampoo peered at Mousse with a whole new level of respect. This was . not good. She didn't think. Looking at it from one perspective, there was a large chance she was about to be creamed if Mousse kept popping up with these hidden strengths of his, but looking at it another way.  
  
He was proving to be able to exchange blows with her just as well as Ranma had.  
  
*  
  
Kasumi had been awake long before any of the other girls, as was the norm, and had already realized that something was very wrong with her current situation before anyone else.  
  
Of course, she had the advantage of being rather transparent and unable to touch anything, which was usually a dead giveaway to the fact that something had gone terribly wrong at one point or another. The nineteen-year-old woman sighed, folding her arms. What a life she lived these days.  
  
Kasumi was presently standing in front of her own home, eyeing the plant life decorating the vicinity with a distinct look of disdain. If she were the type to do so, she might have been clucking her tongue, but since she wasn't, Kasumi simply let out a sigh accompanied by her favorite phrase. "Oh, my."  
  
All the flowers were wilted; the grass untamed and dried up in some patches, her favorite little tree looking sickly and its fruit rotten since no one had remembered to pick it. What had happened here? Why had she ended up on her own street, outside when she woke up, and why had no one tended her garden in what looked like weeks? Everything made little sense to Kasumi, but her mind wasn't really on the subject of her garden as she traveled up the stairs to her house, it was more on the fact that she could see right through her own body, and that when she tried to reach for the doorknob, her hand phased through it. Kasumi stood silently for a second, looking at her hand stick through the solid door with no small degree of fascination and horror, before shrugging, and fully stepping through the door, letting her body slip through it, and shuddering slightly as this action created an odd, though not a totally bad sensation.  
  
The inside of her house was quite a surprise to see as well. Her usually bright, clean and relatively cheerful home was now dark and depressing. Many people of whom she all knew drifted around the rooms with solemn expressions and tears dripping down their faces, wearing black clothing and carrying white flowers. talking in hushed tones. Kasumi shook her head, startled. What were these people doing? Had someone died? But who. Kasumi's heart seemed to stop as she wondered if it had been Soun. Had her father passed on? Or worse. what if it was one of her sisters?! Heart speeding, Kasumi rushed forward, keeping an eye out for any members of her family, almost rudely pushing past people, hardly noticing when none of them commented on her presence, or when her body phased through them as well.  
  
"Father!? Nabiki!? Akane!?' Kasumi cried, dashing into the living room, caramel colored hair whipping around her head as she tried to locate her family. It was hard to tell people apart when they were all wearing a similar shade of black, and had there heads lowered with grief. However, she eventually spotted her kin anyway.  
  
"Akane!" she breathed with relief, trotting up to Akane who was sitting with Ranma, head rested on his shoulder, her own hand clasped in his larger one. Ranma was whispering softly in Akane's ear as the girl sobbed quietly, eyes closed. She looked to be almost in pain as she wept, apparently completely overridden with misery. "Akane." Kasumi started, going to touch the girl's shoulder. However Kasumi's hand simply disappeared into the teen's arm when she tried to touch her, and Kasumi frowned deeply at this. Akane need to be comforted, and she couldn't even touch her! "Akane what's wrong? Everyone else is okay, aren't they?" However, her little sister didn't reply, and Ranma didn't stop whispering comforting comments to her. Kasumi sighed; maybe they needed to be alone. Turning around, she immediately spotted her father and Mr. Saotome sitting next to one another, her father staring at the floor with silently tears pouring down his face, while Genma shook his head grimly, apparently quite distressed. Kasumi quickly approached them; father always needed her help!  
  
"Father," she started, kneeling by him, and looking up into his face. He looked to be beyond grieving, his facial expression slack, and his eyes vacant. It was almost as though the lights were on, but no one was home. Kasumi felt tears welling in her own eyes. This was what she was here for, to help her family! She was the mother figure! She had taken up that job with pride after her own mother had passed away, and wouldn't back down when it was so obvious her family needed her. "Father what's happened, are you all right? What can I do?" But Soun, apparently, didn't hear her. He didn't acknowledge her presence, and didn't stop continuing to stare off into the distance, eyes focused on something that wasn't there, and would never be there, ever again.  
  
"Mr. Saotome," Kasumi tried, going over to Genma, and trying to catch his attention, truly desperate now. "What's going on?" However, Genma didn't seem to notice the distressed girl either, simply continuing to shake his head regretfully, muttering 'Such a shame. such a shame.' These words did little to comfort Kasumi and she searched around quickly for the last member of her family who could possibly help her out. Ah. And there she was, by the mantel, staring at a picture.  
  
"Nabiki," Kasumi cried, jumping to her feet and rushing over to the girl. "Nabiki what has happened here!? Why can't I touch anything, and why is everyone so sad? Did something terrible happen?" Kasumi felt as though she might begin to tear her hair out as Nabiki didn't reply either. Could no one hear her, or see her!? That seemed to be the only logical explanation Kasumi could come up with, and it frustrated her to no end. What good was a mother who couldn't help the people who needed her most?  
  
"Kasumi. why did it end this way?" Nabiki whispered regretfully.  
  
"It didn't end! I'm right here!" Kasumi quickly all but screeched, assuming her sister was addressing her. However, much to Kasumi's disappointment, Nabiki was actually talking to the picture she was staring intently at, with that depressing, forlorn expression on her face. Kasumi glanced at the picture, finding it to be a rather flattering one of herself wearing her best dress and smiling pleasantly. Kasumi nearly fainted as she read the little caption on the frame, beneath the picture.  
  
'Kasumi Tendou. (1984-2003)'  
  
'Oh. My.' Was all that Kasumi could come up with to say to THAT. So. all of these people, all of these tears. they were all here for her. This was her funeral. She had died. She was . gone.  
  
"Oh, Nabiki," Kasumi said softly, looking back at her little sister, still quietly weeping. This wasn't fair. Not to her family. They shouldn't have to deal with this; it was defeating Kasumi's entire purpose in life! She wasn't supposed to make everybody depressed! Kasumi, heart heavy with guilt and grief, lifted a hand to tuck a lock of Nabiki's short, dark brown hair behind her ear, flinching when she tardily remembered she couldn't touch anything. Letting out a ragged breath, Kasumi quickly turned away, walking briskly away from the mantel, unable to take any more of this. She couldn't stand to watch her loved ones suffer when she was unable to do anything to help them. It was just torture.  
  
So the woman quickly exited the room, walking into the dinning room where she planned to re-gain her composure. and immediately stumbled upon Onno Tofu. The only other person in the world she really couldn't bear to see just then. Right.  
  
*  
  
"Dr. Tofu, are you sure you they haven't been drugged?" Genma asked seriously of the younger man, standing next to him as they both stared gravely down at the three unconscious girls laid out on the living room floor.  
  
"Well, I can't be positive, but I haven't been able to detect any sort of poison thus-far. I could take some samples back to the lab, but-"  
  
"Well what HAVE you been able to detect?" Ranma snapped irritably, halting his anxious pacing in favor of glaring at the good doctor. Making sure not to look too intimidated by Ranma's piercing stare, Tofu continued to speak in the most professional, level headed manner he could manage when his one only was unconscious on the floor for an indefinite amount of time. Well, on the bright side, when Kasumi wasn't conscious, she didn't have that frightening affect on him that made most patients run for the hills.  
  
"There's something wrong with their auras. They're rather weak, and it's almost as something has a hold on them, and is muffling their souls, and energy. I have a feeling they're all being kept in this state by someone out there, and unless we find out who is doing this to them, I don't know how long it will take before I can figure out a proper way to release this powerful hold on them." Dr. Tofu said honestly. Ranma frowned; he didn't want this to take long. He wanted Akane back, and he wanted her back now. "Do you have any idea who would want to do this to the girls?"  
  
"God, what kind of a question is that? These are Tendou's, and I'm a Saotome."  
  
"Right. Of course. Silly question."  
  
The entire male population of the Tendou household had started out the morning same as usual. Ranma and Genma had started a particularly violent, friendly morning bout, and Soun had sat down to watch the morning news. It had all started when Soun had realized with a start that something was missing. His tea. He always had tea when he watched the news. And the person who always made his tea was. Kasumi.  
  
The fact that Kasumi hadn't been the first person up that morning was disquieting to say the least. what if she had cold? Who would take care of everyone then? The other two girls were usually up later, but Kasumi was almost always up at the crack of dawn, getting things ready for the new day. So, being the dutiful father he was, Soun had gone to go check on his eldest daughter, making sure she wasn't sick, and if she wasn't, ready to ask her why she hadn't made him tea already!  
  
However, upon inspection, Soun found Kasumi to be totally unconscious, and could not wake her up no matter how hard he tried. This had been very disturbing to the man, and to Ranma and Genma as soon as they found out. Ranma and quickly gone upstairs to inform Akane of this new development. and it was then that HE realized that Akane too, was dead to the world. It had taken a substantially longer amount of time, due to the fact that everyone in the house, even her own father, was deathly afraid of her, but eventually they males had gotten into Nabiki's room and found her in the same condition as well.  
  
This obviously meant a call to the dedicated local physician was in order, so a rather hysterical Soun had quickly called up Dr. Tofu, who had come over to the house to see what was wrong right away.  
  
And there they were, Tofu with no truly helpful advice at the moment, Soun crying deliriously on the couch, and Genma observing everything gravely while his son tried to figure out which of his enemies would be as conniving enough as to try this on his fiancée and possibly future sister- in-laws. The list was quite long.  
  
"Perhaps we should go around town and ask all of the usual suspects if they've tried anything as of late," Tofu suggested, frowning as he tried to remember everything he learned about people suddenly thrown into random bouts of comatose.  
  
"Good idea doc, I'll go-" Ranma was interrupted by the sound of someone furiously banging on the front door, demanding to be let in. "I'll get that," Ranma grumped, shuffling over to the door.  
  
Surprisingly, the person at the door was none other than Ryoga, carrying a cataleptic Ukyo, and looking distinctly worried.  
  
"Ryoga!" Ranma said, surprised. "How'd you find me?"  
  
"Konatsu helped," the boy quickly explained, moving to the side slightly so that the lithe ninja came into view. He nodded darkly.  
  
"It wasn't easy, but I did it. And now, you must help Ukyo-sama! We can't wake her up!" the transvestite ninja quickly said, nearly shaking with fear for his dear friend. When he had found Ukyo in this state earlier that morning, the boy and Ryoga had been distressed, and could think of no where else to go but the Tendou's place, who had most likely dealt with every single type of illness in the world over the years, and would surely know what to do.  
  
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Ranma sighed, rubbing his head as he let the trio in. This was bad. But. it also made something click. Okay, so Akane, Kasumi, Nabiki and Ukyo were all suffering from the same aliment. and they were all temporary scouts. and this suddenly smelled like the work of something more like Ritsuko than Cologne. Why hadn't he seen it before!? He only had one major, active enemy right now, why hadn't a scout demon been the first thing that came to mind?  
  
"Hang on, I'm going to call the Nekohattan!" Ranma quickly said, rushing for the phone, as Tofu filled Konatsu and Ryoga in on all of the girl's predicaments, Ryoga staring at Akane with horror written across his face.  
  
"Why, son? Do you think that the Amazons are responsible for all this?" Genma asked, frowning.  
  
"Oh, my poor babies!!" Soun added, covering his face as letting out a particularly throaty wail.  
  
"No, actually." Ranma admitted, waiting for someone to pick up now, as Tofu gave him an odd look, and Ryoga carefully lay Ukyo down with the rest of the girls.  
  
"Hello??" a rather nervous sounding Mousse replied.  
  
"Mousse, it's Ranma- and don't hang up!" Ranma quickly added. "I just wanted to know something."  
  
"Well, make it quick Saotome!" A definitely frightened sounding Mousse growled.  
  
"Is Shampoo unconscious right now?"  
  
".How did you know that..?"  
  
"Shit! All right, thanks Mousse. You've been a great help, bye!" Ranma said quickly, hanging up as he heard Mousse let out a string of curses, demanding to know how he knew that his precious Shampoo was currently out cold. "Okay, so Shampoo's suffering from this. sleeping thing, too," Ranma confirmed, marching over to the rest of the group.  
  
"My, Ranma, how did you know that she would be?" Tofu asked, generally curious.  
  
"Gut feeling,"  
  
"Quite,"  
  
Everyone stared silently at the four girls now, to the tune of Soun sobbing himself hoarse in the background, as though trying to find the answers written somewhere on the girls. Of course, since there was no writing on them, and since Tofu had already inspected them all thoroughly, they found themselves to be quite disappointed by the lack of information they all provided as the minutes ticked by.  
  
"Say Ryoga, why were you at Ukyo's?" Ranma asked, to break the silence.  
  
"Hm? Oh, actually I came to her after our battle at the school, and she let me stay over one night so I wouldn't get lost, and then after her restaurant got trash from that one weird day I couldn't just leave her, so."  
  
"Ahh, right," the pigtailed boy acknowledged, nodding his head and letting the silence reassume.  
  
Ranma was thinking of starting out and keeping both eyes peeled for Ritsuko looking things, (She HAD escaped after the last battle.) when suddenly the bell rang again.  
  
"I'll get it," Ranma said dully, expecting it to be Mousse and Cologne with Shampoo. Great, they'd have the whole unconscious gang with them! It would be a party. However, the people at the door were more certainly not the Amazon crew.  
  
It was Luna and Artemis. In their human forms of course.  
  
"Ranma!" the both exclaimed at the same time, grabbing the surprised martial artist by the hand, and flinging him outside before he had a chance to protest, slamming the door behind him.  
  
"Luna, Artemis!" the boy cried, part of him sighing in relief over the fact that these two were here. Like Akane had said, they were smart, and he wasn't. He should have thought to go to them sooner actually. If anyone knew about demons, these two most certainly did. "Do you know what's going on around here? Akane and the others are all-"  
  
"Yes, we know," Artemis quickly interjected, looking very solemn. "And you must listen to everything we have to say, because we can't stay in these forms much longer, especially since all of the girls are currently in deep trouble,"  
  
"What sort of trouble exactly?" Ranma asked, fearing the worst.  
  
"A demon has trapped them in their own nightmares! We were scanning the area for Ritsuko this morning on our radars, when we sensed a spell taking place in the area, and discovered it only affected each of the girls! We inspected it and found it to be a very dark dream spell. If we don't get those girls awake soon, whoever is controlling this spell might soon suck them dry of all their soul energy, and leave them to be empty spells! I've seen it done before," Luna sighed, looking very upset, large brown eyes shimmering. "Oh, I feel terribly about all this! We should have stopped the spell before it took affect, but we just didn't spot it!"  
  
"You must save them personally, since we are currently too weak to perform such a task," Artemis said regretfully, silver/blue eyes flashing with regret. If only the other scouts were here, then he would be strong enough to be of some real help!  
  
"Of course I will! Just tell me how to do it!" Ranma said fiercely, clenching his fists. When he found what demon did this to the girls.  
  
"Good. Now, here's what you have to do," Luna said, reaching into the pocket of her bright yellow dress, and pulling out an old sheet of paper: a scroll with an incantation written on it! "This was made by the original Sailor Mars, and it should serve our purpose well. It's for interfering with powerful spells, which is exactly what you must do. First off, you have to choose a girl whose consuming nightmare you will jump into, as a way to get to the person controlling this spell," Ranma hesitated only a second.  
  
"Akane's," he said firmly.  
  
"All right then," Luna said, nodding. "Take this scroll, and place it on Akane's forehead. Once you have, keeping your hand attached to it, and concentrate on only Akane. Focusing on her should draw you into the spell she's been entrapped in. We'd go in there to help you along, but I think it would draw suspicion if the family saw us," Luna admitted.  
  
"Probably, but it's okay. I'm pretty sure I can handle it, it sounds easy," Ranma said confidently, snatching the piece of paper from Luna.  
  
"Wait- listen! Once you're in Akane's nightmare you have to save her from it!"  
  
"Done." Ranma said confidently. Saving Akane was what he did! Seriously, it was like a hobby.  
  
"This action should draw you to the controller of the spell with Akane. We're almost positive. Once that's done. all you have to do is defeat the evil person behind this! We are almost totally sure it's one of Ritsuko's friends, covering up for her while she's injured, so that we can't get a hold of any of the talismans in her absence." Artemis admitted.  
  
"Talismans?" Ranma asked as he headed for the door.  
  
"Never mind," Luna said, urging the boy along. "We'll explain that part later when everyone else is back. quickly, go before it's too late!"  
  
"Right, thanks guys! I'll save everyone," Ranma said, his usual cocky tone back in full as he entered the house once more. Luna and Artemis stared after him, biting their lips. Could he really pull this off? Sure he might be physically strong, but was he strong enough to save Akane from her own demons? That was going to take more than muscle.  
  
"Oh boy."  
  
Back in the house, little progression had been made. The girls were still down, Dr. Tofu still confused, and no one had even been able to stilt the flow of tears from Soun's eyes.  
  
"Ranma, where have you been?" Ryoga demanded as the boy pushed past everyone crowding around the girls, kneeling right next to Akane. "And- HEY! Hey, what are you doing to Akane?" the boy demanded as Ranma slapped the scroll onto her forehead, not removing his hand as he did so.  
  
"I've found a way to save them," Ranma said briskly, closing his eyes and quickly letting himself focus on Akane, and nothing but the girl. Her cute smile, her beautiful big eyes, her creamy complexion, her silky blue hair, that tomboyish style of hers.. In a second Ranma had keeled over, eyes rolling back into his head, face collapsing downwards to rest on the girl's stomach.  
  
Everyone stared down at the strong boy hesitantly for a moment, a bit confused about what had just transpired. Hadn't he said he had found a way to SAVE the girls? Not join them.  
  
"Oh bloody hell," someone snorted.  
  
*  
  
Akane cried out in fear as Ranma let a out a strong punch, moving to the side just in time to have the strike hit the wall. and then break through it, shattering plaster and paint chips everywhere. Akane scrambled to her feet, staring as Ranma ripped his arm out of the wall with a terrified expression on her face. He was for real! That punch could have killed her!  
  
"R-Ranma!" she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, and shaking her head. "What are you doing?" she squeaked, one hand still clutching her throbbing stomach.  
  
He had. hit her.  
  
He had never hit her before, no matter how much she begged he would when they sparred. He could never even play-fight with her, much less seriously try to do her bodily harm. It had always just been that way, and there was something seriously wrong with the way Ranma was acting towards her now.  
  
"I'm going to get rid of you," Ranma explained simply, shrugging cruelly, and slowly advancing on the terrified girl. "I don't need any extra fiancées . you're worthless. Ugly. Mean. Who would want to marry a stupid girl like you? I think it's best if you just. disappeared."  
  
"N-no. that's not true. you. you like me!" Akane protested, tears gathering in her eyes. Part of her wanted to be purely angry with the boy, and lash out, trying to knock his teeth in. but another part of her just wanted to break down and let the boy do as he pleased. How could he be doing this to her? How when they had gotten so close? She had never seen Ranma act this way- never. And she wasn't overly sure just how she was supposed to deal with it.  
  
It was just so hard to swallow.  
  
But Ranma was making it a lot easier to come to grips with as he grabbed her by the throat and flung her into another wall, bruising her neck and creating numerous cuts down her back. She cried out in pain and lay there in a moment of shock, desperately trying to think of a course of action from here.  
  
Obviously, Ranma wasn't going to be merciful. An idea she had never had to deal with before because, well, Ranma was always kind hearted to his enemies. She had never actually been an enemy before but. in all the time she had watched Ranma fight, he had never attacked someone who hadn't provoked him or hurt someone dear to him with such untamed hate and violence. He never aimed to kill. Did he despise her that much? Why?  
  
"Get up Akane. I know you can fight. It would be boring if I just got rid of you like this. with you all. pathetic,"  
  
"P-pathetic?" Akane croaked angrily, her temper desperately trying to make its way to the surface, and Akane's survival instincts urging it along. If she didn't do something, she really would be killed! She staggered to her feet, and gave Ranma the most evil look she could give someone she truly loved, no matter how he was acting now. God. love really was blind. "What do you mean pathetic? I'll show you pathetic!" she cried, a mallet forming in her hands at the infuriatingly superior expression painted across Ranma's face. And even though her body was smarting to the point of tears from the previous injuries, Akane raised the weapon above her head with the intent of smashing Ranma out of the room with it.  
  
But then she got a good look at him.  
  
Sure, his eyes were eerily dark and un-Ranma like. but he still looked like Ranma. And she had hit him plenty of times before, when she was pissed, or sometimes when she was just bored. but it had always been in a rather lighthearted way. She was an expert when it came to the art of the mallet, and knew every time she hit him. it wasn't going to seriously injure the boy. She was aiming to startle or shock him, making him come to his damn senses so he'd stop making fun of her. But now. now this was an act of self-defense, and she didn't know what to do.  
  
Could she seriously hurt Ranma? Even if it was the only way to possibly save herself? He was looking at her in a way that practically challenged the girl to take a swing, however this only that the opposite effect on Akane, who let out a whimpering noise, remembering every time Ranma had saved her from one demon or another, or came to her rescue when it really counted, or made her feel special.. and the few times he had. kissed her. Akane cried out in frustration and dropped the mallet, hearing it crash to the ground, and then staring down at the wooden object as it disappeared back into her dimensional pocket. Shit. What was she going to do?  
  
This decision was apparently not up to her as Ranma took this action as a sign of surrender, and marched forward, punching her hard in the face, so that she immediately crumpled to the ground, holding her cheek and biting her lip to hold back the tears. She shot a glance up at Ranma who was reaching down for her, a devilish glint in his eyes. He grabbed her by her pajama shirt and brought her up to be eye level with him. Akane couldn't even look at him as he drew back his arm for another punch. He was going to really kill her. She was going to be murdered by her fiancée in her own house. in her own hall. near the bathroom. and there was nothing she could do about it. The thought was depressing, but not so nearly depressing as the fact that he had betrayed her. Her fiancée, who she had thought she had finally understood, truly loved, and wanted to be with . had turned around and betrayed her.  
  
She couldn't focus on anything but this thought. It was all consuming and utterly disheartening, and she felt as though she was suddenly getting weaker just dwelling on it. It was terrible. She couldn't' take it. She wanted to die. maybe Ranma was doing her a favor. maybe.  
  
Ranma's head was suddenly snapped violently to the side, and he cried out in pain, letting go of Akane so that she fell to the ground like a lifeless doll. Mild confusion was the only thing that urged the girl to raise her head, and find out what had happened to her killer. What she saw made her nearly go back down once more.  
  
It was Ranma.  
  
Well. Another Ranma, at least. Whether it was a good thing that there were now two Ranmas or not, she couldn't be positive, but she supposed she find out in due time.  
  
The new Ranma was wearing the traditional red Chinese silk shirt and black pants, while the Ranma who had been about to break her neck was wearing a blue one. It was the only thing Akane could use to tell them apart, because otherwise they were identical. It was weird.  
  
The new Ranma was also breathing hard, his eyes wide and disbelieving, his lips parted ever so slightly. He seemed a bit enraged. Akane wondered if he was mad at her also. it all. seemed. so hard to think about. Everything was very groggy and unclear, as though she was more mentally weak now than anything. How peculiar.  
  
"How DARE you!" the new Ranma roared, grabbing the old Ranma and giving him a good solid punch that made a sickening, wet snapping sound, that signaled that probably Ranma had broken the other Ranma's nose. Then, the new Ranma proceeded to cup his hands and shout some words that Akane assumed were a chi attack, but she couldn't really tell because everything was just a terribly loud, vibrating shout. Soon after, a ball of white light appeared in Ranma's hands, and he seemed to concentrate on it for a minute, eyebrows furrowed together. Then, his arms shot forward, and before the old Ranma had a chance to defend himself, he had been hit directly in the chest, and was thrown back, screaming and howling in the most dreadful way.  
  
Everything was so loud and violent, that the weakened girl found herself holding her ears. But she looked up long enough to see the first Ranma make one last gurgling sound before lighting up, and then drifting away as though he were made of nothing but sand, his entire body collapsing in on itself. Akane was now very confused because she had been positive that Ranma was not made out of sand, since when he had attacked her that had all felt pretty solid. But hell, what did she know?.  
  
The new Ranma collapsed to his knees and stared at his hands for a bit, Akane content with the new silence she had obtained, and willing to just let this Ranma think about what he wanted. He looked pretty depressed, come to think of it. She faintly wondered why.  
  
"Is that your worst nightmare?" Ranma asked finally, his voice a strangled almost sob. But Akane couldn't see any tears. Not that this counted for much. "That I'm going to. to beat you up? And kill you?" Akane stared at him, wondering what he was getting at, and if he was going to kill her already. It was getting awkward, and sort of hard to focus on anything. All of the power had left her legs, and her head was lolling around now. But she still thought about the question.  
  
"No," she finally decided upon, her voice much more weak and gravelly than she had thought it would be. Ranma looked up at her, storm blue eyes shimmering. There was something about those eyes. they were so much more. lively, than the other Ranma's. It made her feel sort of warm inside, a little happy. They were familiar.  
  
"Really?" he asked. She shook her head weakly. It really wasn't. She could never once in her life remember being afraid that Ranma was going to beat her up. It just wasn't a possibility! On the other hand, he HAD, so who knows. Watching Akane sit there for another moment, her entire frame shuddering with exhaustion, it occurred to Ranma (And this was indeed the real Ranma, in Akane's nightmare with some help from Sailor Mars.) that Akane looked very tired. and upon inspection found that her life force was diminishing quickly. Shit! That's right, Luna had said her dream would destroy her if it went on for too long!  
  
"Crap!" he spat, darting forward. He had to get her out of this nightmare, had to make it end for her, or else he didn't know how much longer she would hold up. Already she looked near the breaking point. "Hold on Akane, don't you dare leave me now,"  
  
"'Kay," she agreed quietly, watching, fascinated, as he took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. He was so warm...  
  
Concentrating on his power, and life force, Ranma performed an action that proved to be very useful in battles when your comrades were injured, or in cases like these, when your fiancée was about to be killed because her own nightmare was swallowing her soul. He transferred some of his own life energy to Akane, watching, satisfied, as some of the color returned to her cheeks, and her bright brown eyes regained some sparkle, instead of that dull, lost look they had acquired before. Eventually she started breathing normally again, the feeling returned to her legs, the clouds disappeared in her head, and things started clicking together.  
  
'I feel so warm inside. is this Ranma inside me? Is he bringing me back?' she wondered, staring up at the boy who was gazing at her with such a degree of concern that it made her smile. This was the real Ranma. This was her Ranma. How had she ever thought that the Ranma from before could have been the real one? 'Something was clouding my vision.' She realized. 'Something was purposely trying to depress me, and trick me, so that it could steal my soul.'  
  
"Thank you," she sighed, her head dropping onto his chest, eyes squeezed shut as she held more tears back. She didn't want to cry anymore. It seemed so silly. SHE had been so silly. "I was going to die,"  
  
"I know," Ranma growled, never separating their hands as he lifted Akane's face back up. He nearly recoiled with self-disgust as he saw what the other him and done to Akane. She had a black eye on the left side of her face, and a deep scrape along the left cheekbone. He knew from holding her up that her back was littered with numerous little scrapes, and from the erratic way she was still breathing realized she must have at least taken one good blow to the stomach. There were blue bruises quickly forming around her neck as well. It made the bile rise to his throat. Why hadn't he stopped this earlier!? Why had she let him do this to her!? He wanted to ask her a million and one questions, but knew most of them would have to wait if they were going to break this spell. There were other girls out there probably having the same amount of damage inflicted on them, and he needed to save all them too.  
  
Akane noticed the way he was staring at her, and suddenly remembered how bad she must look. She bit her lip and turned away, not wanting him to see her in such a state of pain, when there was nothing he could have done about it.  
  
"We're going to have to talk about this later, you know," he sighed, standing up, and supporting Akane who was still having some trouble.  
  
"Yeah," she said, a little regretfully, but acknowledging that Ranma probably deserved to know about everything that had happened, no matter how much she didn't want him to know. He'd just blame himself and feel really guilty about the whole deal, when it was really SHE who had been the idiot.  
  
"Akane." he said, his voice thick with sorrow. "How could you just let me DO this to you?"  
  
"Don't call it you," she quickly hissed, shaking her head. "You would never act like that. And I KNEW you wouldn't. the whole time. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. It was there the whole time. and I. couldn't comprehend any of it." she sighed. It was hard to explain. "But just so you know, my worst nightmare isn't that you'd try to kill me." She finished softly.  
  
".Then what is it?" Ranma asked, his voice heavy with the need to know. What sort of a fear had created a scenario like this for his fiancée? How could he help her? Akane looked very hesitant to answer, but that expression on Ranma's face made her realize she didn't have a choice. If she wanted to continue any sort of lasting relationship with this boy, she'd have to start being honest with him. maybe starting by admitting her worst fear about this bond between them was a good start.  
  
"It's that you'd try to . get rid of me. And take another fiancée, as though I were just a hassle. Like you didn't need me like I need you." She admitted, the explanation sounding stupid even to her own ears. She suddenly found herself physically unable to look at Ranma as he took in this response, eyes wide. She wondered if it was healthy to blush this much.  
  
"What?" he asked unbelievingly, crushing her against him suddenly, so that she gasped quietly. "How can you think that? I would never get rid of you! Especially like this! I need you too. Akane!" he said suddenly, holding her by the shoulders so she was forced to look him directly in the eye. She did so willingly now, liking the passionate glint in his stormy eyes that made her shiver slightly. It was nice. And suddenly everything around her was feeling a lot warmer, and the rain clouds of depression in her head were rapidly retreating. Only Ranma could make her feel like this.  
  
"Akane. I love you." He said firmly.  
  
The girl stared at him a bit disbelieving for a second, as if trying to register what he had just said, before deciding she didn't really need to think about it too much. She had been waiting for him to say those words since the first day she met him. All right, maybe not the first day, but pretty close to it. Akane cried out happily and threw her arms around him, those damned tears starting back up again. But this time, as she leaned in to kiss him, feeling as though all of her energy had just miraculously come back at those words, they were tears of joy, and she let them come.  
  
And as Ranma felt Akane's tongue quickly dart into his mouth, freely exploring now that all of her fears had been dashed and she had never felt so comfortable with this boy as she was now, it occurred to him that, no matter how shocked he was personally that he had just uttered those three words. he probably should have tried it earlier.  
  
That was just about when there was an unexpected blinding flash of a sickly blue color, and Ranma and Akane barely had time to break apart from their kiss before it swallowed them whole, like a vortex of blinding, angry power. They were sucked in head first, being transported directly to Miji, screaming into their tight embrace.  
  
*  
  
Shampoo gave a sharp kick upwards at Mousse's chin, growling in frustration as he just bat it away, and she fell to the ground once more, wincing as the gravel dug into her skin through her silk pants. Already the most bruised part of her was her butt from the amount of times Mousse had expertly thrown her back onto that injured part of her body, and it was starting to get aggravating.  
  
Mousse was winning the battle.  
  
There was no question about it, he was proving to be more skilled and powerful than the girl had ever suspected. And while she was still slightly regarding him with awe, and more respect than she had since they had been in the village and he had shown her how to make a penny disappear without using magic. she didn't know if she could keep fighting like this any longer, and was contemplating what would happen if she were to loose, seeing as it was a very likely possibility currently.  
  
Well. First off, he would marry her. Okay. how did she feel about that? She wondered as she flipped over his head in order to avoid a swipe he made at her with those chains of his. She whirled around in a crouch to glance at him as he spotted her once more. She couldn't honestly tell how she would feel about that. It was confusing; she hadn't been able to think about marrying anyone other than Ranma in so long that she wasn't even able to comprehend what it would be like.  
  
But maybe. it wouldn't be so terrible.  
  
Sure, Mousse was no Ranma, but obviously Ranma wasn't the guy for her if he didn't like her back, and he gave her nothing but trouble when she tried to make him fall in love with her. Maybe she had to go for a different type of guy. Maybe someone less cocky and superior, as Ranma tended to be. That wouldn't make a good Amazon male. Maybe she needed someone a bit more humble, willing to deal with her crazy tendencies and Amazon traditions. Willing to appreciate her more. Maybe someone more like. Mousse.  
  
She glanced at Mousse once more, really looking at him just before he slammed his knee into her side and she swore of her ribs cracked. She braced herself with her hands so that her face did get crushed into the ground, sighing as she felt one of Mousse's swords dig into the back of her neck before she had the time to flip to her feet. Yeah. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Her eyes glazed over. God, how had she discounted Mousse as being a good suitor all these years? It was all becoming so clear.  
  
"Do you surrender?" Mousse asked. Ah. Here it was. The big question. It was almost as though he was asking 'will you marry me?' and now it was up to her to decide. She wasn't exactly sure what he would do if she refused to give up, as she had a feeling he was expecting she, the always stubborn Amazon, would, but she abruptly felt no urge to say 'no'. Wow. She had been a real bitch to him, hadn't she? Sure, there were flashes of compassion, moment of tenderness. But they were so brief, and most of the time she was perusing Ranma. Not that this was really her fault. She had been ordered to marry Ranma, and treating males like scum was the Amazon way. Still. She suddenly regretted it, and wished for the first time in her life she could take some of it back.  
  
"Yes,"  
  
And at that simple word, her heart filled with a totally new emotion for Mousse, who quickly removed the swords point from the back of her neck, and helped her to her feet. And she couldn't exactly say what it was, since she had never felt such an adoring sentiment towards the warrior, but, if she had to name it, she could have sworn it was. love.  
  
"Mousse," she said, looking up at him once he had helped the shaking and injured girl to her feet. She wasn't wondering about how he had gotten so freakishly strong anymore, or why she hadn't woken up in her own bed, all she was thinking about was this man. And this new feeling that had only just been born inside her. She only wanted to feel this sensation now, because it made her feel good. She liked that.  
  
But as Mousse slowly craned his neck down to kiss her, and Shampoo began to compliantly close her eyes, vaguely wondering what Cologne thought of all this. An annoyingly bright flash of blew light ripped open a space next to Shampoo, whipping her violently away from her new aireen, making her scream in terror as she lifted out a hand towards the raven haired man, screaming for him to help her. Mousse watched her get swallowed into the blue cloud of power with a horrified expression, terrified, but unable to follow.  
  
The next thing Shampoo was aware of was the fact that she was floating through dark, empty space, and that she was breathing so hard that it really made her middle ache. Though that might have been because she had a cracked rib or two.  
  
"Shampoo!" A foreign, deep yet scratchy voice boomed in aggravation, the sound coming from all around her, so that she found herself desperately searching for the source, panic rising inside her. "What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
"I-I no know!" she offered in her broken English, feeling a little freaked out. Where was she NOW!?  
  
Suddenly a dark form appeared in the vast nothingness that Shampoo currently inhabited, looking scary and pissed as all hell. It had a dark color of skin that was a cloudy gray, and wide yellow eyes, that were currently narrowed into little accusing slits. It wore deep black robes, and its form, while definitely solid, appeared to be a little see-through if you really tried to look for it. Though this made it no less powerful seeming. Shampoo didn't have to be trained by Cologne, although she was, to see that he had a chillingly ample amount of power radiating off him.  
  
"You've RUINED my NIGHTMARE!" he spat, stopping just in front of her, and clenching his fists threateningly, as though he was thinking of possibly, maybe hitting her. Shampoo was beyond caring.  
  
"Sorry?" she offered, out of lack of a better thing to say. Was it. bad that she had ruined his nightmare? Because when someone woke her up from a nightmare she was usually pretty gratified.  
  
"I had set up the perfect nightmare for you!" Ah. So it was HER nightmare. "But then you go and start LIKING it! Why!? Why would you feel good about loosing Ranma? And why would you ever accept Mousse? I thought he was lower than dirt to you!!"  
  
"He. he WAS," she admitted. "But not anymore. Why you care?"  
  
"Because that dream was supposed to eat your SOUL!" the figure cried, throwing his head back. Quickly he snapped his slimy arm out for Shampoo to see. She shrank back, but listened to what he had to say anyway. "LOOK at my arm! Do you see that? It's partly TRANSPARENT! If you had just hated your dream like any normal, proper Amazon would, I could have eaten your soul, and been one step closer to being solid again. You understand?" The man, Miji if one must know, groaned. He had been so close! What was wrong with this purple haired bimbo?  
  
"It's." Shampoo sighed, rubbing her temples, and trying to clear her vision. Everything was getting so hazy! Why did she suddenly feel so weak? Sinking down to her knees, she looked up at Miji curiously. "It's weird. Shampoo feel so tired. What you doing to Shampoo?" she asked, her gut telling her Miji most definitely had something to do with her sudden bout of weariness. Miji smiled cruelly, his good humor suddenly back.  
  
"Well. If you really want to know. I'm sucking in your soul right now! It's really quite funny, but, at this close a proximity, I don't even need you to be suffering from a bad experience to get your tainted soul to be taken right out of your body," he giggled. Shampoo wanted to be angry about all this, really wanted to do something to shut this demon up. but just couldn't muster the strength to put some action behind that sentiment.  
  
Luckily, it was at that moment that another portal was ripped open in the vast space of nothingness, where Miji and Shampoo sat floating in the dark. and out of it popped Ranma and Akane, clutching one another fearfully.  
  
"AHHHHHH!" they screamed together, as Shampoo smiled grimly, and Miji made a startled choking sound. Things were about to get interesting.  
  
*  
  
Ritsuko brushed a lock of blond hair from her eyes, as she held her magic mirror above her, gazing into its depths, watching Miji and Shampoo be interrupted by the newest arrivals to Miji's little domain. All right, so things weren't going exactly to plan, but they weren't turning out incredibly terrible either. Miji hadn't done a bad job, and hell, there were still three very stricken provisional Sailor Scouts out there, which wasn't half bad. Miji knew what he was doing, and there was still some hell to come.  
  
Besides, she was healing far faster than she had first predicted, and should be back on her feet within a few days. Yes, it was a wonderful thing, being a demon. Resting the mirror on her stomach, Ritsuko leisurely laid her head back on her silk pillow, still resting in her little apartment, preparing for the day she would continue her quest for the talismans. the talismans that would eventually, inevitably, kill the scouts.  
  
Taking in a deep breath, Ritsuko closed her eyes, carefully drawing off the negative emotions wafting from the arguing couple upstairs, as they helped to mend the gaping wound in her abdomen, and the depressed teen next door worked on her broken arm.  
  
* (A/N- I have no concept of time or age in this fic, unlike most others I've done, so I really don't know how old anyone is, in fact I tend to change that from chapter to chapter, nor am I aware of what day it is. It's the weekend when I think it's convenient for a chapter, it's the weekday when I think that would be amusing, or if something really important is going on, hell, let's make it Spring Break. Just so you know, that's how this fic is going to be run, take it or leave it. (Please don't leave it! Please!)  
  
*  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
I finished this surprisingly fast, although it may not feel like that to you, it was a pretty darned good job for me! I told you that this chapter was going to be weird, and I'm pretty sure you all got that feeling. Next chapter, since it's just the continuation, will be equally weird, and disturbing. Even though I'm pretty sure you all figured out what's going on by now, if you have any questions, I'm here all week, so drop me an e-mail. I love getting e-mails from reviewers, they make me feel special! Just plain old reviews are spiffy too though, don't get me wrong! Hell, any sort of communication between you, the reader, and me is tres bon. Except don't call me, I hate talking on the phone. Bores me to death, ick. And if you actually have my phone number that's even weirder. Anywho, look out for the next chapter and have a wonderful day,  
  
Rio Grande~  
  
P.S- I realize Akane has yet to say 'I love you' back to Ranma, but don't worry. We'll get there! 


End file.
